FLU the amount of cash on the sidelines is orthogonal to the overall state of the economy. When we were crashing in 07 and 08 the amount of cash was staggering and today it is just as much if not more.

I think that as long as housing offers any decent return, and possible even no return at all, you will continue to see this sort of pressure. Then you throw in the ridiculously low interest rates and you qualify another big batch of buyers who normally could not come close to affording the payment. Mix in others who feel that housing is an excellent inflation hedge because we all know that someday we will be screwed to the wall because of our federal spending habits and you simply have a demand that will stay strong at many different price levels. I seriously doubt institutions are buying million dollar homes in CV however it does not surprise me in the least that you have seen a few cash offers at 7 figures.

Where the hell else will they get a return on the cash?

Personally I think people are idiots for investing cash in homes when the lending industry is giving away money but what the hell do I know and does it even matter?

Finally, we all have now seen that there will not be and will never be a tsunami of homes no matter how f-cked things become. The govt has shown they will let you live in a home for free and lenders will be bailed out. The precedence has been set right? (yet another reason to not offer cash)..

Never be surprised how much cash people have dude. It don’t matter what they look like, or what profession they are in. San Diego, the bay area, beautiful climates beat the hell out of anywhere in the country. That is why they all buy here. No matter how much they all brag about why they love other spots in the country.