Declining home prices for another 10 years?

What would happen if home prices remain stagnant for another decade? It is hard to imagine that the cornerstone of the American dream would somehow become a bad investment for the next decade. For decades every generation was conditioned into believing that housing was the best investment a family could make. For many it provided a stable home for retirement once the mortgage was paid off. One third of all homes in the United States that are owner occupied have no mortgage.

Yet this mindset of buying and paying off a mortgage has largely been lost. No mortgage burning parties in the digital age. It may be making a comeback not because people want this but because there is no other financial choice. Given the current domestic and global trends, it is likely that housing will be suffering another troubled decade from 2011 to 2020 just like it experienced from 2001 to 2010. I want to lay out six charts as to why I believe housing will have difficulty moving up in price in the next ten years. (read more)