[quote=sdrealtor]Interest rates and inflation account for higher cost and price of just about everything everywhere. Devalue the dollar and flood with currency and prices will rise. I don’t think anyone would disagree with that.

For me the question is what explains the rest of it. Why do prices rise more and faster here than Cleveland? Why do single family homes rise more than condos. Why has beach area properties appreciated more than East County?

While he did an excellent job, I think it’s just showing how markets behave in general and I’m always looking for the exceptions that allow one to beat the market. Am I missing something?[/quote]

I think the answer to all of your questions in the second paragraph boil down to one word: desirability. SD is more desirable than Cleveland (where the term “sunshine tax” came from), SFR are more desirable that condos, and beach property is more desirable that desert. Not sure there is much mystery in that. The question you may really be asking is how does one calculate how much more something is worth given that it is more desirable.

I’m not willing to pay more to live at the beach as I would probably hate it there (traffic, moisture, etc), but I’m willing to pay more to not live in the desert which is why I live about 11 miles from the coast. And I’m definitely willing to pay more for a SFR than a condo…a little more privacy is worth something to me, though I don’t need so much privacy that I need to move to the desert! 🙂