Unless it was a manufactured house in a MH Park, a $400,000 house in California is less “house” and more an exciting opportunity to meet your demolition contractor. 😂

So its future value would be whatever the market at that time says the new house built in its place is worth.

The $400,000 part basically bought you the dirt and the privilege of hauling away what was sitting on it. 
Welcome to California! 😂 

Location, regentrification, school closings and openings and so many other things, unknown to us at this time will throw some curve balls my crystal ball can't comprehend at this time. 

As with everything, it depends!  Where is the house located?  What type of house is it?  Neighborhood demographics?  Crime rates?  Schools?  Government regulatory interference?  Lots of factors.

Most appraisers in our area say 3 to 4 % increase on average per year.

Who knows?   I would probably agree with Buzz with 3%, but depends on the area, condition, location and all those important items.

I'll go with $500,000.  I believe we are going to see a sharp increase in interest rates causing prices (and wages) to stagnate.

I won't even predict what homes valued today might be a year from now! My crystal ball has been cracked for a very long time. What's the basis of your prediction that we will face a downturn?

Don't know. But looking back historically, a home purchased for $100,000 in 1980 is worth $434,000 today based on US Bureau of Labor Statistics. The mortgage rate in 1980 was 13.74%. Of course, buyers refinanced over the years. Jeff

Why the question? To fall back on one of the usual - it really depends on where the property is located and what happens to the surroundings. It could be development, gentrification, flooding, fires, tornadoes; anything might affect the value. 

Tony Lewis where is the house located that the current value is 400k? I don't use crystal balls🔮 we may not be here in 10 years🙂

In my area it could be less. So many variables. I bought my house in 2004 and for 15 years it was worth less, only recently have we shot up in value. For investments you have to buy low and sell high. For living in it, all about what you want.

Totally depends on the location, house, condition, economy, interest rates, etc. I couldn't even guess.

Great question but my crystal ball is cloudy these days.  Prices move in step with wages which I don't see getting on an elevator anytime soon.  

Tony

let's agree (hopefully) that it will not become less than what was paid. From there, location plays a key role. The coveted places ride the supply & demand train while the out-lying areas pretty much stay the same year after year. Then, there is the costs to recapture. I know people who claim they can't sell & renting sucks, so the house sits until it becomes a problem. If you have to have a dollar figure Tony Lewis ...if they don't make it easier to build by easing restrictions, the 400k house going up a 100k is possible

Before reading Thomas J. Nelson, REALTOR ® CRS,ABR,PSA,RCS-D, CFSP comment, I was thinking a box under the freeway where I live in California would be $400K.  Ryan Huggins - Thousand Oaks, CA was gracious with a tent! 

Will home prices continue to increase and lose value over time? 

That depends on many macroeconomic and microeconomic variables. 

Tony, we had properties that doubled in value in 5 years and in that same 5-year period, other properties barely increased by 20%. It's ALL about the location.

The cute little house across the street from me just sold for $840K--just for the dirt! I would have to have a detailed ADDRESS for my crystal ball to come remotely close!! 

I don't want to invest too much time here- but we have been building toward a crash on multiple fronts with a ton of warning signals flashing red with a black swan event entirely possible. Stocks have been overvalued for years, bond markets are being propped up by the Treasury (poorly), lots of awful policy decisions, inflation, war, oil is a concern with refinery's destroyed. Nationally the housing market is still way overvalued, unaffordability in every direction, unemployment so misleading, AI killing jobs, etc.... 

To indirectly answer your question- we may need to experience a crash in order to have a reset- aka Creative Destruction- coined by economist Joseph Schumpeter. Some of our most entrepreneurial periods have come as a result of recessions- so while it could get ugly for awhile- it paves a healthier path forward.

Your $400k house example, could go down for awhile and several years later finally bounce back and thensome. I still wouldn't project overall wild growth because we likely need to experience some pain first.  

I think your guess is good enough, Tony Lewis 

Price depends on condition, location, market conditions and weather events. Might not even be there anymore after a catastrophic storm or could be claimed through immanent domain for subsidized housing. So many factors, Tony.

My crystal ball does NOT show a downturn Tony Lewis but my high school math tells me that $400,000 now gaining $150,000 in 10 years is not a downturn. Just saying. 😄

$480,000

It depends. Probably no more the 450,000.00 max around here for many houses. Age, maintenance, upgrades, etc are just a few factors that will help determine value in 10 years. Some will be worth less because they were overpriced when current owner bought them.

Less.

Time will tell. One thing we know for certain is that home ownership continues to provide a safe pathway to family wealth.

A house valued at $400,000 in Los Angeles today will likely be worth between $537,000 and $786,000 in 10 years, depending on the average annual appreciation rate.

HOWEVER, we do not have any houses in that price range.... the lowest entry level home is 700k+. 

A house valued at $700,000 today in Los Angeles, California, is projected to be worth between $1.03 million and $1.25 million in 10 years based on historical appreciation rates of 4% to 6% annually.

Even with a temporary economic downturn or correction along the way, real estate historically works in upward-moving long-term waves. Over a 10-year period, supply shortages usually win out. $550,000 is a very safe, realistic guess, but if inflation spikes again or inventory stays tight, we could easily see it closer to $580,000 or $600,000!

I'd put my crystal ball's accuracy somewhere between a weather forecast and a Zestimate after seven glasses of wine... but here goes:

"In 10 years, that $400,000 house will either be worth $550,000, $800,000, or somehow still $400,000 while property taxes are calculated as if it's worth $1.2 million."

If history has taught us anything, it's that housing experts have successfully predicted 37 of the last 3 downturns.

My guess? Around $600,000-$650,000. Not because I've uncovered some secret economic truth, but because the housing market seems fueled by a sophisticated blend of demographics, interest rates, government policy, local supply constraints, and whatever dark magic causes a 1978 ranch house with avocado-green bathrooms to be described as a "rare opportunity."

That said, predicting home prices 10 years out is like forecasting where your teenager will leave their shoes tomorrow: confidence is high, accuracy is low.

So your $550,000 estimate sounds perfectly reasonable. Which, according to the laws of economics, probably means we'll both be hilariously wrong.