Good thing we're not selling our house any time soon

So as you probably know if you have read this blog before one of my main goals right now is to pay down our mortgage so we are at least at the break even point - so we don't owe more than our house is worth.  Well the house was appraised last fall for $200,000.  Right now we're about $6,000 away for reaching that milestone.  However today I just saw something this really disappointed me.  I just checked zillow.com and according to them, our house is worth $196,000.  When our house was appraised at $200,000 last November, I checked Zillow a few days later and it said it was worth $210,000.  So if Zillow's estimates are on the high side, then our house may be worth even less. As you can see by the chart below, our house value has gone down dramatically since we bought it in late 2007.  I'm jealous of my younger brother who is buying this month and is getting a deal and won't be losing over $50,000 in house value like us.  I guess we just have to be thankful we are not planning on selling soon, and hopefully the value will start going back up soon!

(Click on image for larger version)