But this time is different than early 1990’s. This time we saw a virtual explosion in prices at the end of the peak driven by fear of rising prices and unbridled greed (if they got x, lets see if we can get x plus 25K). The biggest gains came at the end and I see no reason right now that it wont undo itself in reverse.
AS for PS’s questions as to when the peak occured for each class, its impossible to say. In Spring 2004, when most insiders believe the peak occurred there was virtually NO INVENTORY. Any comparison of current inventory levels to then is ridiculous as the roughly 3,000 homes on the market was absurdly low. There just werent many sales in alot of areas in Spring 2004. The peak price someone got for a specific property depends upon when they decided to sell and does not necessarily indicate that was the time a given property could have sold for its peak value. Its all too arbitrary.
The best you can do is ask someone who was involved in it. Trust me and anyone else around here who saw what was going on, it was absolutely NUTTY in Spring 2004. If you had the nerve to ask, you could have gotten anything you wanted back then.
RE: the boomer cashing out commnet. Boomers are just beginning top hit retirement age and shouldnt be a huge factor. Furthermore, many Boomers are going to be sitting on huge cash positions as our parents begin to pass on the enormous wealth they accumulated and conservatively invested. For example, my parents were never close to what I would consider wealthy but I will eventually inherit enough to pay off my mortgage twice. I hope it’s a long way off.
