By Ed Krafchow, president of Prudential CA/NV/TX Realty
In the many years that I have observed this industry, we have never been in a more peculiar time.
Everyone is abuzz over the steadily increasing cost of the Northern California housing market, up 68% since March 2004 according to the most recent CAR (California Association of Realtors) statistics. Cable channel prognosticators, spoon-fed by pundits from the stock brokerage industry, love to manufacture news of a pending real estate bust. But, there is very little evidence of a bubble in the Northern California market. This market still suffers from a significant housing deficit and mortgage interest rates are still at 40-year historic lows. So, you figure it out—where’s the bubble when housing supply can’t meet demand and money’s as cheap as it’s been in a generation? I’m not forecasting the national market, but Northern California is my backyard. Here are 10 reasons why this market is not a bubble waiting to burst. By the way, I am not David Letterman and plan to hold onto my day job!