Any classic bubble has that panic buying stage right at the end. This article from Arizona in May 2005 kinda captures that moment perfectly:
Pamela Harness has never seen the market this hot.
The Phoenix-area real estate agent's clients include a couple who made a $150,000 profit by reselling a house they held for just six months, an investor who paid more than $300,000 for a home he plans to put back on the market by year's end, and buyers facing months-long waiting lists at area home builders — if they can even get on a list.
"The market here is just absolutely nuts," says Harness at West USA Realty in Chandler, Ariz. "I get investors calling; they want to buy a home. I tell them they're a day late and a dollar short at this point."
This was supposed to be the year the housing sector, which has expanded at a record-setting pace since 1998 (except in 2000), started to cool. Instead, existing-home prices rose in March at the fastest pace in two decades, and new-home sales hit another peak in the first three months of the year.
The strong housing sector has buoyed the economy and local governments, through construction payrolls, increased property tax revenue and consumer spending tied to high home equity.
March 08, 2006
It seems like forever ago... Here's an article from 10 months ago
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2 comments:
Were those dolts in the AZ print media sounding any warning bells back in May '05?
Have they ever quoted a "real estate expert" who wasn't a broker (and therefore a voice with an agenda?) Instead of, for example, an economist?
This article exemplfies the massive correction that has already taken place in the real estate market.
We're at the tip of the iceberg as well which should scare the heck out of everyone.
Remember that data lags about 6 months.
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