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From: mazlack@ernie.berkeley.edu (Lawrence J. Mazlack)
Newsgroups: net.invest
Subject: Re: A Question
Message-ID: <12724@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU>
Date: Thu, 27-Mar-86 18:54:14 EST
Article-I.D.: ucbvax.12724
Posted: Thu Mar 27 18:54:14 1986
Date-Received: Sat, 29-Mar-86 01:40:42 EST
References: <882@sfmag.UUCP> <20519@styx.UUCP> <1893@hammer.UUCP> <12722@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU>
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Reply-To: mazlack@ernie.berkeley.edu.UUCP (Lawrence J. Mazlack)
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Organization: University of California, Berkeley
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Keywords: savings, real estate

>> >The advice I've been hearing lately is that you should try to go ahead
>> >and buy the house as soon as you can, as real estate prices tend to
>> >rise faster than your ability to purchase. Prices will not get lower,
>> >and the mortgage interest rate should be at bottom in the next month
>> 
>> This is *not* generally true. In Oregon, prices have been dropping
>> over the last several years, and I know several people who have lost
>> money (in the form of equity) as a result. 
>
>Some "conventional wisdom" on this subject -- which I can't confirm
>from personal experience --
>
>A safe claim is "well located single-family detached houses hardly
>ever decline in value".  I don't know about the situation in 
>Oregon though.  Prices have been firm or rising most places I'm
>familiar with.
>
>Many people predict that housing cost will continue to form a
>higher and higher portion of peoples total expenditures.
>If this is true housing prices can continue to rise faster than 
>the overall inflation rate, and even rise during deflation.
>

This is simply not true outside of the Bay area. Nationwide, in most markets,
housing has went down the last 18-24 months. This is down in absolute terms,
even before considering inflation. This has been pretty well reported in the
national financial press.

However, you could always believe the "Milionare Maker"