[quote=CA renter][quote=sdrealtor]Funny, I consider myself to be very pragmatic and very much a realist also. The difference is my expectations have REALLY happened proving me to be a realist after all.

It is very easy to get caught in a negative psychological death spin. The “government and ignorant public” have been kicking the can forever. Its the American way. The whistle through the graveyard while the most pessimistic predict that dire consequences are a certainty. The reality typically lies somewhere in teh middle and that is where the realists truly live.[/quote]

Lots of housing bulls back in 2005-2007 were patting themselves on the back for being “right” too. Just because we’re early does NOT mean that we “perma-bears” are wrong.

I, for one, never said it was going to be a quick downturn. Back in 2004, I was predicting the downturn wouldn’t really get going until 3-5 years from that point, and I’ve always said, from the very beginning, that the market wouldn’t bottom until 2012, and that it would bottom even later if the govt got involved with all manner of bailouts. I even predicted the severity of the downturn and that the govt would get involved and have a govt-backed mortgage program and tax credits for buying — and have the posts to prove this. Almost all of my predictions have turned out correctly as well, BTW, and I’m predicting that this is nowhere near over.[/quote]

srd seems to agree with you, as he recently stated:

[quote=sdrealtor]Look at all that shadow inventory, vacant homes are everywhere, the tsunami is coming, rates are about to soar, inventory is skyrocketing, unemployment i sdhigh and getting worse, the public sector is about to take a major hit, the stock market is tanking, home sales are down, deflation is on the way….get ready for the next leg down.[/quote]