Crazy Housing Prices

Homebuyers nationwide are watching housing prices go up, up, and up. How high can they go? is the question on everyones lips. As long as interest rates stay around 5 percent, theres no telling, remar ed one realtor in !anta "onica, #ali$ornia. %ts cra&y, said 'im, who is loo ing $or a house near the beach. %n ())*, % bought my $irst place, a two+bedroom condominium in ,enice, $or -./,///. "y $riends thought then that % was overpaying. 0ive years later, % had to move. % sold it $or -1*/,///, which was a nice pro$it. 2ast year, while visiting $riends here, % saw in the local paper that the e3act same condo was $or sale $or -5(/,///4 %t is a sellers mar et. Homebuyers $eel li e they have to o$$er at least (/ percent more than the as ing price. 5onna, a new owner o$ a one+bedroom condo in ,enice 6each, said, 'hats what % did. % told the owner that whatever anyone o$$ers you, %ll give you -1/,/// more, under the table, so you dont have to pay your realtor any o$ it. % was tired o$ loo ing. 'im says he hopes he doesnt get that desperate. 7hether you decide to buy or decide not to buy, you still $eel li e you made the wrong decision. %$ you buy, you $eel li e you overpaid. %$ you dont buy, you want to ic yoursel$ $or passing up a great opportunity. 8veryone says the bubble has to burst sometime, but everyone hopes it will burst the day a$ter they sell their house. 8ven government o$$icials have no idea what the $uture will bring. All we can say is that, inevitably, these things go in cycles, said the state director o$ housing. 7hat goes up must come down. 6ut, as we all now, housing prices always stay up a little higher than they go down. !o you cant lose over the long run. 'wenty years down the road, your house is always worth more than you paid $or it.