Some resist believing in dropping home prices

“Mailbag” gives insight into the comments I get from my readers — good, bad or in-between — and my thoughts about their feedback.

California housing is unaffordable. Yes? And inflation is bad. Yes?

Just don't suggest that home prices will deflate even though depreciation creates affordability.

And adding options for house hunters — like new housing construction — well, that's bad, too.

That's the housing inflation logic found inside my inbox. Now I don't everyone to agree with me. And I'll admit my hunches aren't always correct.

Still, I remain Pollyanna-ish about the problem-solving potential of spirited yet civil dialogue — even if a recent email started with “Dear moron” …

A READER WRITES >> “The doom-and-gloom seems to be a continuing pattern of negativity about the housing market. Are you trying to negatively influence the housing market?”

MY RESPONSE >> Assuming that the folks who highlight real estate risks have only sinister motivations is sadly part of the swings in homebuying psychology.

Look, falling prices are good news for house hunters who are part of my audience. And be warned: Discounting by owners and landlords may be required to jump-start this dead market.

Plus, for the record, I've been an Orange County homeowner since 1986. So a market crash would dent my net worth, too.

THIS READER CONTINUED >> “Jordan Levine, the California Association of Realtors' chief economist, says the “sky is not falling” and predicts a modest, singledigit drop in prices for 2023. So as a consumer reading one article of gloom-and-doom and the other of a negligible drop in prices, who is one to believe?”

MY RESPONSE >> Anybody thinking about a big investment like a home should seek numerous opinions before buying.

As for a “modest single-digit drop,” we've already had that!

The Realtors' California median sales price for existing single-family homes shows that August's $839,500 was down 6.7% from the all-time high of $900,000 in May.

Only in 2008, in the heat of the last market crash, did we see a bigger May-to-August price drop in records dating to 1990.

Also, May-to-August declines are rare — only eight dips in the past 33 years. It's prime buying season with an averaged 2.6% price gain since 1990.

This summer's purchasing pace also was the slowest since