Quote from Pabst:
I'm bearish on RE prices. IMO prices exceed the income available to sustain these valuations. That being said, IMO the systematic economic damage of lower home prices as expressed by opinions like yours is WAY overstated.
I'm hardly an old guy although older than most on ET (44). Most everyone I know has been a home owner for a decade or two. That means in most cases they have about half or more of their home paid off and their place has doubled or tripled since purchase.
I live in a beachfront community north of Miami. Without doubt prices have already declined 10-20% around here. Yet I don't know a single homeowner who's effected. This place is littered with 40yo's who bought in 1998 for 500k with a hundo down from either the proceeds of a starter home, an inheritance, some stock sales or a gift from their parents/inlaws. If anything, vis a vis lower rates they've decreased their borrowing costs this decade. Bubble prices? Fer sure. Will the bubble breaking put them on the street? Hardly.
Certainly there's "poster boys" in any speculative environment. Flippers, NASD daytraders, ect. Are they the majority of activity. Nope.