some interesting comparisons, page-90

so its different this time.....house prices will go down....for how long ??? 10 years or 20 years....if you did study the history and charts you would see there are dips and troughs and it can stay flat for years...and then it goes back up again...in line with inflation....and all the other factors that include... a roof over ones head...

there are differences regarding the cost of a house today compared to years ago....most of them are huge mcmansions, 4 beds and 2 bathrooms to begin with...a theatre room...its twice to three times the size of what was once considered an average home......so try to compare apples with apples
even your example of looking for a million dollar house is not the average or median price....which is closer to 400.000 to 600.000 depending on which city you are talking about.........
I am a property bull, but I am not interested in a million dollar house in todays market, I am far more modest in my life, am happy with an ordinary house in a good suburb, and use the same criteria for my investment properties,...

plus being a baby boomer am closer to early retirement
(the bb's have been retiring at 55 not waiting until 65) and I have been working only part time for a couple of years now, got tired of the full time work.....so since am enjoying my laid back semi retired lifestyle I am not interested in putting more financial pressure on myself...

even though I am a property bull...I still look to the longer term time frame to make the profits on a passive investment....I understand perfectly well the ups and downs in the property cycle.......and it can stay flat for another 3-5 years.....nothing new or wrong there.....
but hopefully I will still be using my property interests for self funding my retirement right up to age 85 or so...
and in the meantime I will provide housing for my children and a nice inheritance for them as well....I also look after other members of my family.....
I can actually earn more from the capital gains on houses than I do in my working life...you do not collect every year, but about every 3-4 years I get a lovely big cheque...of course thats the reason I reduced my full time work....when I realised the beauty of property investment, my plans and goals came to fruition much earlier than anticipated........
and as far as I am concerned it will happen again...so a year here or there is nothing....its the bigger picture that counts...
one more thing, I would rather buy 2 props versus 1 more expensive....easier to rent out 2 modest homes rather than one big house...and I renovate them and keep them up to date...just my personal attitude....plus easier to sell and I still get the profits....but everyone has different ideas, so go with what works for you
lets check those graphs and prices again in say 3 years time