Clay Kime

Why There's No Such Thing As a Housing Bubble

Paul:

Thanks for your comments. This report was prepared for the Northern Virginia (DC Metro) Area at the very end of 2006.

You are absolutely correct, that conditions elsewhere in the country may well be different now as likely they have been during the first half of the 2000's. Even prior to the housing slow-down in Virginia, we had a number of clients relocating from other states where the level of activity in their home states never approached that of our area, Ohio being one of those. Recovery will certainly look different in different markets but I believe it will resemble market balance of supply and affordability-driven demand on a local or regional basis.

I also agree that at some point, hopefully not at the same point, we will see the withdrawn properties re-introduced as active listings. Additionally, some of these are the residences of those who cancelled their "new construction" contracts, so they are no longer under any pressure to sell. Many also were converted to rentals which puts those properties out of market reach for 1 to 3 years, depending on the lease term.

I would also like to note that the title "Why There's No Such Thing as a Housing Bubble" was unilaterally authored by the editors of Seeking Alpha. It was not my title. But the horse is out of the gate now. C'est la Vie!

Regards,

Clay