A lot of home price headlines right now are misleading.  Be careful what you read and what you believe. 

Here's the bad news: even more of those headlines are coming, but I can actually help you understand what is actually happening. 

A graph shows the 48-year monthly average for home price movement.  The last few years aren't reflected, because nothing about those years is normal.  What the graph shows is what normally happens in the market.  Home price growth starts off slow in the beginning of the year and really ramps up in the spring.  That's the peak homebuying season.  Then it cools off in the second half of the year.  There are no red bars on the graph, which shows prices falling. 

As we move into the second half of the year, price growth is going to slow down a little bit, and headlines are going to get it wrong and say prices are falling.  Please don't listen to them, listen to me.  It's my job to help you understand the facts, so you can stay one step ahead. 

Let me say this too, real estate is local, so what happens in your neighborhood, in your area, in your community is really all that matters.  Those national headlines don't pertain to most people.