[quote=Jazzman]How much is a lot? And what is driving it? How much does it matter what is driving it? I just hear the same pre-bubble drum pulsating just beneath the surface, scarcely able to constrain the ferment as it grasps at it’s old friend ‘greed and stupidity’, discarding cautionary notes and rationale with its usual careless abandon. You know, good luck to you, if that is what you want.[/quote]
I’m sure you can look at the data yourself. It’s not that hard, just click on the chart at the bottom right of the page. As to what’s driving it, your guess is as good as mine. I’m neither a permabull nor a permabear. I’m just a realist and state the data as it presents itself. I’ve been around here for over 7 years and have been beating the bear drums before the crash and throughout the crash. But I switch gear when it became much cheaper to buy than rent from day one. I got even more bullish in areas where cap rates become 7-8%+. You didn’t find me beating the bull drum in 2004 much less 2006-7 when it start to decline and you won’t see me beating the bear drums today. When price has risen over 10% w/in 1 year AND PITI is cheaper than rent.
I’m neither greedy nor stupid nor discard cautionary notes and rationales. I look at data and come up with my conclusion. I’m glad you have to resort to personal attacks to prove your points. Especially when you can’t back it up with data and numbers. I can easily back mine up with cap rate, PITI vs rent, etc.
