Lonestar2000 nailed it. Real estate became a playground for wall street.
As far as the Ivy League types… I’d partner with any of those guys over some shmoe that just read a copy of “Rich Dad Poor Dad” and has uncovered the secret of becoming rich overnight. For every wall street idiot, there are hundreds of wannabe real estate “investors” or mortgage brokers (call themselves bankers).
Long Term Capital Management demonstrates just how complex capital markets are. The effects of the Russian default in 98′ along with other factors blew up the fund. But the fact remains that the types behind LTCM, Ivy League types or not, are a little bit more sophisticated than the geniuses you see on “Flip that house” or your local real estate experts… The housing bubble was cool in that it made even the dumbest folk feel for the first time in their lives that they too were smart investors.
