On Tue, 20 Sep 2005 17:21:16 +0000, NOYB wrote:


I've been on the fence on how to advise him. Part of me believes as you
do: that $340k villa will drop in price once a correction knocks the
speculators out of the market. But if I'm wrong, then where does he live?
If he pays the $340k now, and then it drops, he can just stay in it until
it goes back up again.

Yeah, my Crystal Ball is a little cloudy too. It's a tough call, but
ultimately housing's real value is to live in, not to make money on. If
he can afford it, and he is planning to stay in Naples, then . . . maybe.
The values are relative to the market. He'll only take a big hit, if he
has to leave the Naples market. That is, provided, Naples hasn't been so
overvalued that prices don't recover. I don't see that happening. Naples
is a very nice town and it will cost a premium to live there. Myself, I'm
just reaching a cautious age where I would be very hesitant in that
market. Your brother, maybe he hasn't reached that age. ;-)