"Joe" wrote in message
oups.com...

Maxprop wrote:
"Peter Wiley" wrote in message
. ..

No such thing as overvalued or undervalued in a free market, except in
someone's perceptions. It's worth what you can sell it for, when you
want to or have to sell it. Period.

There is a lot of rhetoric here now about "overvalued" real estate. The
term is perhaps a misnomer, but it refers to what property will be worth
when the market cools and the prices readjust. This happens in places
like
San Francisco, Miami, and Chicago from time to time. My brother's home
in
SF, which he purchased in '74 for $58K, appreciated to over $400K, and
then
readjusted in a slump to around $275K back in the 90s. Now it is over
$850K
and still rising, but he strongly expects a readjustment somewhere down
the
road. So the market gurus speak over "overvaluation." Ultimately,
however,
the trend is always up over the long haul. That's why interest-only
loans
are dispensed like candy in such areas these days.

Max

My little siter bought a house in Cape Coral Fla. 4 yrs ago for 225K.
She sold it last week for 885K. Almost a 400% profit. She still has a
duplex on the market that will rake in another 150-200K profit. Her
property got so expensive she could not afford the taxes anymore. She
going to retire in Alabama, no retirement income taxes.

That's a sad testimony to the ills of a boom real estate market where
property taxes aren't adequately controlled. I'm sure the RE companies
relish the idea of homeowners being forced out of their homes, which
generates a continuous flow of properties to the market. For the
individual, however, their dream of living out their retirement years in the
home of their dreams becomes a pipe dream. I guess there is some
compensation in that they can move to Mudwallow, Somewhere, and own the
nicest home in town.

Max