David Lereah, chief economist, NAR: «With the manufacturing job picture improving, we could see better home price growth in Midwestern and other markets that haven't seen the strong appreciation we've seen in
the hot coastal markets.»
That's why I think
the hot coastal markets are bubblettes.
In the face of this, residential real estate prices continue to rise, particularly in
the hot coastal markets, which tells me that the price momentum can continue a little while longer until it fails because there is no incremental liquidity available to expand the bubbles.
I am decidedly a bear on housing prices (at least in
the hot coastal markets) at present, but I recognize that momentum can carry prices far beyond sustainable levels.