12/19   Has the housing price dipped lately?  I am considering buying a
        house.
        \_ suprisingly, it hasn't.  It has slowed down though.  When I
           bought my house in Jan I had to bid with 30 other people, now
           there's only 3-5 bids per house.  I'm even more suprised that my
           house has been appraised at 15% above what I paid.  Incredible
           given the stock market condition.
        \_ Older 2-bdrm townhouse in shittiest location (but in Sunnyvale):
           asking $340K, sold last month for $430K. And brand-new 2000 sq ft
           townhouses in Mt View, start $1million. Houses *may* slow more
           since now people may be forced to settle for a townhouse
           driving the prices of those up.
                \_ $1million? BS. URL?
                   \_ Shrug.  I'd believe it.  What I don't believe is that
                      housing price rises will slow because of town houses.
                      Not per se.  The town house 6 blocks over will never be
                      in the same price range as the houses in the area.  If
                      you're saying that people will simply give up on houses
                      and live in a townhouse, then that means building more
                      townhouses, fewer new houses and thus an increase in the
                      price of houses as they're even rarer than they were.  As
                      a homeowner, I'd be quite happy to see the end of new
                      housing starts all over the BA and just new townhouses
                      and zero lot liners instead.
                      \_ and higher density, more noise, more traffic, etc.
                         \_ It's happening now.  It's just a matter of time
                            and degree.  Those who don't want it or can't take
                            it or whatever will go elsewhere.  Living in this
                            area is a choice.  It isn't mandatory.  I don't
                            intend to spend the rest of my life here.
        \_ God is making more people but is not making more land.  No surprise
           that housing hasn't dropped in a significant way.  Guy down the
           street sold his ugly house after 9 months with a 50% gain only a
           month or so ago.
           \_ Man is making more land. Flattening hills in East Bay, Fremont,
              San Jose and taking up former ranch and farm lands in same.
              But then Cisco and Sun and them keeping hiring more people
              and bringing them to this area. Where are they gonna live?
              \_ You've seen the "housing" in Fremont, SJ, etc?  I've done a
                 lot of hardcore house hunting in those and many other places
                 around the south bay.  That isn't housing.  That's a cesspool.
              \_ Cisco and Sun (and others) are in the process of moving
                 jobs to places like Texas. The Bay Area housing boom will
                 level out if not bust. I wouldn't live in a place like
                 Mountain View if you paid me to. Los Gatos? Pacific
                 Heights? Sure. Sunnyvale? Not. There's a sucker born
                 every minute.
                        \_ Forget Texas, Sun is going overseas - Ireland,
                           Russia, and India are the high-growth campuses
                           for Sun now.
                           \_ Sun recently acquired 200 employees in
                              Mnt. View. ;-) - ex-cobalt employee