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If you bought a home and had to sell, but made money, congratulations you beat the market. You get to brag at the next barbecue about how your a financial wizard.

If you bought a home and had to sell, but lost money, congratulations you were an unofficial renter. You lick your wounds and lean into the next financial scheme.

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That presumes you can sell it. From personal experience in the 2008 market, you can be upside down enough on your mortgage that you financially are unable to sell your home because you don't have enough cash on hand to set fire to.

Its not a good feeling not knowing how long you are going to be stuck in the home. Hope you don't want to move due to things like having kids or getting a new job while you are upside down.

The mortgage market has changed a lot as a result of 2008. It's harder to end up underwater now with requirements for less biased appraisals, actual income, and actual assets. The other thing to note is that even in 2008 almost every home in the country had recovered to above 2008 prices within 5 years. Buying a house without a reasonable confidence of living 5 years in that home is taking a big risk.

Cities like Las Vegas just recovered to their 2008 peak just before Covid hit.

And if they see a correction now they may drop below their 2008 peak.

https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/LVXRNSA

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