[jjdees]

Chuck, What bubble? the great great majority of homes in the US weren't part of the bubble. The areas that were, parts of the northeast, coastal properties, and California were a part of the bubble. I looked at homes in Newport Beach that were selling for 40,000 new in the seventies that would bring a million today. Where else has that happened? The entire nation's housing market is in the tank. The media started talking about a bubble bursting than switched to the subprime problem. That still doesn't explain the slowdown in the market. The media pushed the issue so much, there's a general fear that prices are going to go down substantially. For most people outside the bubble areas, that would mean selling houses for less than what was paid for them years ago. In the Villages, a house that sold for 160-180K in 1998, 1999 is selling in the high three hundreds today, some in the 400s. Compare the premier homes prices today against 6-8 years ago. Now compare that to the rest of the country where a new $400k home in '98, '99 is selling for 425K today. This whole scene makes no sense.