[Muncle]

Which, of course, begs the question, are the prices low today or were they unreasonably high 2 years ago? Not using Chuck's numbers or situation exactly, but say you paid 500K for a house 10 years ago. This was a place to live, not a stock or commodity bought for investment. Three years ago, an identical house sold for 1 Mil. Today, your house is valued at 800K. Did you lose 200K in the last year or did you make 300K in the 10 years you owned and lived in the home? I guess in a way, it goes back to that half full/half empty conundrum, but I tend to think you made a 300K profit. Regardless of the supposed value of something, it ain't worth nothing unless you sell it -- with the exception of the evil tax appraiser and the refi situation, of course.

Now if you paid 1 mil two years ago and must sell today, you did lose. Don't sell now unless you must or you can make a better deal on some other guy's house who's price has bottomed.