There is a full-scale counterassault going on right now. RE boosters are fighting back agressively against the media depictions of a distressed RE market. The boosters are breaking out all their big guns:

– San Diego has great weather

– Everyone wants to live in SD

– Counting the 200% spike in the 2000s, RE prices have increased an average of 5%/yr since 1980 (this one is my personal favorite)

– There are plenty of great jobs here to support these prices

– Interest rates are going to go back down and stay down

– The government (or God) is going to intervene and bail the RE markets out

– Etc, etc, etc

There are people who believe the boosters, some out of fear that maybe their 2005 purchase wasn’t such a good move after all and others because they literally don’t know any better.