Real estate prices across the country have skyrocketed in the last five or six years. Low interest rates, combined with a lack of trust in the stock market has led to a tremendous inflow of capital into real estate. To put that in perspective, take into account the median household income, which is a little over 44,000,dollar and compare that with the national median home price of 216,000 dollar, a very high multiple. Of course, in many metropolitan areas ( http://www.ixs.net ) where a large fraction of the nations population lives, the rise has been even more spectacular. San Francisco has seen the median home price rise from 395,000 dollar in 2000 to 713,000 dollar in early 2005
For those who did not get in at the right time, the situation is lamentable, many others, on the other hand, find themselves sitting on potential gold mines in many cases they have witnessed the doubling, trebling or even quadrupling of their investments in a matter of a few years. Walking and sleeping on land that has appreciated under your eyes is a satisfying experience, and some people are quite happy to count their chickens without wanting to cash-in on their gains. Others, for whatever...