[Ben M.]

Originally Posted by Formulabruce

The inflation will absorb a lot of excess profits made last year and in 18 months the housing issue will end.

The only way the housing problem is going to go away is if the demand for the houses and property goes away. A large part of the problem on the west coast is large investment groups putting stupid offers in for EVERY property that comes up. While we do have some rich folks who can afford to drop $1mil, it's mostly investment groups\corporations, both domestic and foreign, who feel that owning physical property is safer than having the cash on hand. History has played out so that unless your property is in danger of being swallowed by the sea or a volcano, owning physical property is almost never a bad bet.

I'm now getting offers and cold calls from real estate agents wanting me to sell my place, since I just passed the time frame to avoid capital gains taxes. I tell them the only way I'll sell is for enough to buy another place well over what I owe.