In the 15th through the 18th century in Europe,land speculation ( and this includes housing ) was quite the wild ride. You think interest only mortgages are something new? THINK AGAIN!
The Chicago real estate boom of 1870-71 and '73, it was said that in 1871 every other man and every fourth woman has an investment in house lots. By 1873 ot had grown into one gigantic BUBBLE and burst.
Then,there was the Chicago co-op boom of the late 1920s.Some developers built with no cash at all and when the market crashed,they went belly up,leaving the apartment owners to also face not only bankruptcy,but having to rent ( they turned many of the buildings into rental ) what they supposedly had owned. Some builders were even worse frauds and built/sold/and took the money and ran...leaving the banks and supposed owners holding the bag. But there were still wealthy people, some of whom banded together and managed to keep their building co-op,or rebought their apartments and rented out the rest. Most of these building age co-op or condos to this very day;with those that were rental, made into condos decades ago.
Manhattan real estate is in the fix it's in ( prices )due to city government laws and regulations and rent control. Then there's also the fact that there's just so much land available and the laws of supply and demand.
I didn't say that real estate speculation was new, I said it was currently in a bubble mode -- particularly in urban areas, such as NYC. In other areas, it's still possible to buy a house for $30,000 and in some hard pressed communities, they are actually giving people homes if they agree to live in them for 10 years.
Recently, in a fit of temporary insanity, I actually looked at buying property. The brokers, who were amusing for the first few outings, soon depressed me with their high-strung gibberish.
In terms of real estate speculation, I believe we're in for another wild ride. Interest rates, according to reliable sources and drinking buddies, are due to rise this summer (if not before).
You're just repeating what I wrote, in previous messages. I think you simply wish to be contentious, to be disagreeable.