I am not nearly as well versed in the countless financial variables that affect home prices. I think it is quite clear that rapid increases in home prices, gas/energy prices, and the general costs of living have outpaced most people’s ability to increase their earnings. It’s that simple. Why else would banks become so lenient in lending their money? Because most people couldn’t qualify under normal lending conditions.

The pissing contest between sdduuuude and powayseller is just that. No matter how many statistics they throw at us, they are really no more in the know than people like me. It’s like the stock portfolio managers who bragged that they could predict what would happen to the market back during the dot com boom. I recall an experiment that was done where a chimpanzee was given the chance to select stocks during that period and it actually beat many fund managers! It just goes to show you how effective all those stats and charts were.

Yes, making an informed decision based on sound data is a better bet than just guessing. But there is also such a thing known as paralysis by analysis.