Puester > wrote:

>Steve Pope wrote:

>> T > wrote:

>>>> Baby boomers are not the problem; U.S. real estate prices are
>>>> high because of the decades of trade deficits.

>>> That may be part of it, but how did the trade deficit get so
>>> large? You got it, the baby boom.

>> Oil imports? Walmart? Consumerism in general, combined with
>> trade barriers?

> I've often thought it was because realtors earn a percentage
> of the sale price and have no qualms about advising the seller
> to price high and hinting to the buyer that the property is
> worth more than the asking price.

> When we moved to Colorado in the mid 80's it wasn't uncommon to see
> buyers put up a "For Sale" sign six weeks after they moved in, asking a
> hefty increase in price.

> Prices are insane. I was reading a real estate ad this week, thinking,
> "Hmm, sounds like a fairly nice house, but nothing special" when I got
> to the price. $1.3 million. On less than 1/6 acre. No, thanks.

Yes, add speculation and profiteering to the list, along with
mortgage tax breaks and abnormally low interest rates which would
normally be fueling inflation and thus triggering interest rate
increases from the Fed except that so-called government "inflation"
figures exclude real estate and energy costs...

S.