It is NOT necessarily foolish for someone to be buying right now. As everyone who has taken a little economics knows, all individuals have varying indifference curves relative to one another. In this case, the curve plots money vs. convenience. People are willing to trade one for the other in varying amounts depending on their personal circumstances and attitudes. There are plenty of people who don’t give a rat’s ass whether their house declines by 35%; they’re either very wealthy such that such a decline doesn’t really affect their lives and/or they’re willing to take the hit because the convenience of getting settled is “worth it”.
Again, I believe we’re in a bubble. I believe lots of people are going to suffer in the coming real estate decline. But having said that, there are PLENTY of people out there who are justified in buying right now because of their personal circumstances and attitudes.
I enjoy these forums, but sometimes I scratch my head and think, “How do these people manage without some semblance of economic understanding?” There are books written on many of the economic topics addressed herein (inflation, currencies, behavioral issues, etc.) that will do a far more thorough job of explaining such topics than this forum allows.
