Reply #4: The cause: Low inventory of homes, low apt. vacancies, foreign investment [View All]

[David Zephyr]

Keep in mind that the U.S. dollar is at an all time low against most foreign currencies and so what looks high to us can be 20% to 30% lower for foreign investors (both individual and corporate) just by merit of currency exchange alone.

Real estate is "real estate" and is a commodity, just like oil, metal and foodstuffs.

I have consistently jumped into threads here at the DU as far as 18 months ago where doomsayers were advising potential homeowners to "wait" until the "bubble" bursts.

Well, another year and a half has gone by, homes are 20%-40% more expensive, mortgage rates which are still at historical lows are still higher than the rock bottom rates of 18 months ago...and worst of all, those that waited lost out on mortgage interest deductions, tax deductions and most of all appreciation.

Housing is really going to be the ultimate class divider in America now for generations to come. I still think that buying a little something is better (even now) than waiting for a fantasy bubble to burst.

A lot of the doomsayers who were screeching on DU forums and other internet forum about the impending housing crash were not so altruistic as one might think because they had shorted the REIT markets --- that is, they bet their money that the real estate market would crash and then that they would make a lot of money because of it --- and therefore were working the internet forums (including the DU) to help further generate a "panic" to help make their shorting investment pay off. They should be ashamed of themselves as they perhaps discouraged many to stay out of buying a home.