True.
However, do the math:
House in Ohio - $135,000
Winter Coat - $65
Gas Bill - $600 for the winter
Snow Shovel - $14
House in Cali - $472,000
Hmmm.
How about this math:
House bought in San Diego in 1996 - $145,000
Winter Coat - $0
Gas Bill - $0
Snow Shovel - $0
Proposition 13 property tax protection - $priceless
House in Cali - $145,000
If you buy in California at the bottom of the real estate cycle, you will profit. If you buy now at the peak, you will be sorry. I bought at the bottom when people told me not to buy. (the Cold War is over, San Diego will lose its Navy bases etc etc etc... housing will collapse . . .)