I have a friend who lives in Newbury Park, which borders Thousand Oaks. She and her husband just sold an oceanfront rental they had on the East Coast and made a lot of money since they had owned it for 15 years. Their original idea was to buy a second property in Ventura County and rent it out. After running the numbers, they decided nothing was worth buying, and they would be better off paying long-term cap gains on the sale of their East Coast home.
In other words, their cap gain penalty was a better deal than buying a depreciating asset. They will take the rest of the proceeds and buy in two-three-ten years, AFTER prices finish plummeting.
Your friend sounds like her mind is already made up.
