I grew up in So Cal.. I remember when Irvine was orange groves, when Temecula was Rancho California in the 1960’s with very few houses, before Magic Mountain was in Valencia, etc.
The area exploded in the 70’s-80’s because housing was AFFORDABLE.
It made sense to buy and real estate wasn’t looked at as a road to riches, buying overpriced McMansions with ARM’s and other toxic loans created by Wall Street that were going to explode.
You actually had to qualify for a loan, which you could get with as little as 5% dow, and prove your income.
This isn’t a “downturn”, it’s a return to sanity.
The denial about what happened and thinking that you need/have a “chance” to buy a house is laughable.
The REAL crisis was the market bubble that the govt allowed to inflate.
The collapse of housing prices isn’t a crisis.
Foreclosures are not the problem, they are the solution.
The stock market is in the same boat. Believing that it’s a safe place for retirement may be foolish.
Until several generations accept/understand what was allowed to occur and that housing and the stock market are ponzi schemes, the charade will go on; artificially manipulating the market is the problem, not the solution.
Never buy a house EXPECTING it to go up. Appreciation should be a bonus….HLS