With interest rates increasing, more potential buyers are priced out of the market. Inventory seems to be finally rising dramatically and we are seeing more price reductions than last year. It is possible that we are at or at least near a peak. The question then becomes, how long does it take for home prices to bottom after a peak?
It is quite possible that home prices will stay flat but inflation will devalue money, such that inflation adjusted values are declining.
Historical information indicates that troughs occur about three and a half years after a peak. Going from peak to trough is usually much quicker than recovering from a bottom to the last all time high. If our peak is coming this fall, maybe the optimum time to buy will be in about four years.
This time could be different, though. A lot comes down to psychology of buyers. That is why the Fed tries to talk down inflation before actually tightening. It may also be possible to control inflation with a change in energy policies, to favor domestic production, but that does not seem likely to happen.
The following article discusses previous history with timing from top to bottom and from bottom back up to the previous peak.
https://calculatedrisk.substack.com/p/house-price-declines-how-long-for