Moscow the most expensive city in the world? Da! http://www.tampabays10.com/news/national/article.aspx?storyid=34161 BTW, for our Miami friends, its #10.
From George Soros book "I believe we are currently in the midst of a gigantic real estate bubble. It was caused by the determination of the Federal Reserve Bank not to allow a stock market decline in 2001 to turn into a self-reinforcing rout. The federal funds rate was lowered to 1 percent. Mortgage institutions encouraged mortgage holders to refinance their mortgages and withdraw the excess equity. They lowered their lending standards and introduced new products such as adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs), âinterest onlyâ mortgages, and promotional âteaser rates.â All this encouraged speculation in residential housing units. House prices started to rise at double-digit rates. This served to reinforce speculation, and the rise in house prices made the owners feel rich; the result was a consumption boom that has sustained the economy in recent years. Again, the bubble can be attributed to a short-circuit between the value of assets and the act of valuation. This short-circuit is called the wealth effect."
This quote screams bubble: "According to The Economist magazine, a 2004 poll of Los Angeles homebuyers found that they expected their home prices to increase a stunning 22% per year for the next decade"
To me, and that's one of the reasons I moved to Denver from So Cal, is that a couple of years back the So Cal papers were all reporting about lowest level of affordability and such. Cmon ppl, the writing is on the wall. I don't think it will pop unless the economy completely tanks but deflate yes. Hell my mom's large townhouse that is 25 years old is 660k! A freakin townhouse! They built condos on the old Tustin air base for 450k! That is a toxic dump. Anyone knows that the military bases are known for dumping fuel and crap into the ground. I could buy 2 of my home in Denver metro for 660k, not that Denver is cheap compared to say Dallas. 3 years ago in So Cal I was warned that the market was going to go wild but I didn't believe, well I was wrong, but I see cracks in the armor. Give it time some pain will be felt. It already is in San Diego and Vegas, OC won't be far off.
Don't ever quote Soros, Soros: A Reluctant Appreciation "In 1998's 'The Crisis of Global Capitalism,' he forecasted the imminent collapse of free-market capitalism on a world scale, triggered as much as anything else by the high-speed, high-leverage machinations of investors such as himself. In an interview last Saturday with The New York Times in connection with yet another book, he confessed, 'Basically, I got carried away ... I goofed.'" -------- I can't believe I'm seeing Soros quoted. When was the last time he's been right?
This really is a must read: http://piggington.com/bubble Id like to hear some bulls try and counter his points.