Waiting for Home Prices to Fall? Don't Hold Your Breath

Nominal price drops are rare and short-lived

• We often talk about changes in home prices without adjusting for inflation (“nominal” changes in prices). But measuring changes in “real” terms—stripping out the impact of inflation—makes more sense.

• Most national indices show that home prices are higher than they were a year ago—but only without adjusting for inflation. In real terms, prices are lower.

• B…