Whoa, guys, calm down.
Let’s get back to my original thesis, that CA is now losing population (census bureau) for the first time in its history, and that will affect RE in the long run. Largely because of government policies at the state, county, city, and school board level, CA has the highest or next-to-highest taxes and regulations, delivers the worst services (schools, roads, prisons, etc.) compared to nearby states, and has the nation’s highest poverty rate when cost of living is taken into account. These trends will only worsen as CA’s policies attract the homeless, welfare-dependent people from colder states, and now, from the world. Incentives matter, and the poor move accordingly.
They will saddle CA taxpayers and businesses with an even greater burden in the future, so taxes will rise and the exodus will accelerate, especially for higher-bracket taxpayers.
CA’s finances today look OK due to the flood of federal COVID largess and temporarily low interest rates. But history shows there is a reckoning in the form of stagflation in the near future combined with vastly higher interest rates. Long run, it does not bode well for CA real estate compared to its neighbors.
