[bigsigh]

hold on a minute, quick draw.

There are many real estate markets. In southern cal the below average market is driven by population AND investors. Tell me when the popluation will drop and I'll tell you when those in the low end can start sweating.

[irishjuggler]

Tell me when the popluation will drop and I'll tell you when those in the low end can start sweating.

It's precisely those in the low end who have the most to worry about. A rising population won't continue to drive up home prices if that population can't afford the montly payments necessary to sustain those prices. A low income couple who buy a $400,000 "low end" home in California with an interest-only ARM and nothing down will be wiped out if interest rates were to shoot up to 10% in a few years. There's a mentality that high interest rates are simply impossible. How quickly we forget that rates were higher than 10% as recently as 15 years ago. Why can't that happen again?