Spell-check is always a plus, as is Firefox 🙂
Couple things-
Not sure how accurate the data is, as it is extremely old. I would have to guess it’s probably good to within at least +/- 10% though and that’s enough to get a feel for long term trends. Anyone read Irrational Exuberance? I’m planning on it.
As far as the inflation since 1990 goes, I don’t doubt that could play a role. However, 95% of people probably trust the inflation data/aren’t aware of any change in methodology, and this is the graph/data that will continue to show up in the MSM. I think the larger significance is that data/articles of this nature are now showing up regularly in newsweek and yahoo finance. If the general perception changes from “real estate always rises” to “It takes 95 years for real estate to rise,” then housing will have a problem worse than a credit crunch. It is 1 thing for no one to be able to buy a house. It is another for no one to want to buy a house.
I mean no offense and am sure he/she is a good person, but any reasonable realtor also thinks that making a living is a good thing, and it is likely their opinion reflects this.
