this is a fantastic site and the contributions are always very valuable. A lot of the “data” is available all over the net, start with housingtracker.net. As for predictions, they are just that…predictions based on sound logical inferences. Only god can say for certain what, when and how things can going to happen, so I don’t see your point.
Lastly, I think calling it a bubble implies a burst. I see no burst here. A burst would take some sudden event that reduced prices over the term of weeks, not months. See the internet bubble for an example. If your house goes down 20% over 2-3 years, it’s shouldn’t come as a surprise, and you will have had plenty of opportunity to get out.
A bubble means the asset price is not supported by any sound fundamentals but rather by speculation. And that is VERY true in the case of Real Estate.
As for sudden events, the serious tightening of lending has caused utter turmoil in the industry. Do you even follow the news? And the timeline for prices to come down varies depending on the asset, Real Estate prices don’t come down like stocks due to the logistics involved… a foreclosure goes through NOD, NOT etc. taking at least 90+ days to materialize. People don’t give up on houses that easily because they can live in them and try to delay the inevitable (i.e. getting kicked out of their house), unlike stocks once they’re down that’s it.
