sdrealtor,
Sorry that grouping you in with the general Realtor population offended you. I have been reading Piggington for quite some time, but this thread is the first that got me fired up enough to post. I have found your posts quite interesting and well-reasoned, and thank you for sharing the data you have as it is helpful. At the end of the day this is really all just opinion based on what data we have available, and our own individual experiences. I too have a masters, co-founded and sold a technology company, and have this (weird) fascination with RE. I’m targeting our next purchase around the $1.5M area, so I’m looking for today’s $2M property to get down to that area. I’m thinking that nominal declines of 30% in this bear market (for lack of a better term) will probably be pretty close to the mark. I just don’t think it will take 5-6 more years to get there. But nobody really knows, do they? Obviously, some people aren’t worried about it and are making a personal decision that’s right for them. For me renting makes a lot of sense right now, IMO, it is a good value and low-risk strategy vs. purchasing right now.