Originally posted by caltour:

In coastal California, a home is not just a place to live. It's also an investment. For millions of Californians over the past hundred years, homes have provided excellent returns on investment.





Homes are investments in MUCH of the country...not just Cali.
Housing market has been great last few years for sellers. Here in Richmond, Va. bought a 3600 Sq ft/0.5 acre home less than 1.5 years ago for $370,000 and a few weeks ago my neighbor next door (virtually same house as mine except he lacks the finished 3rd floor mine has + my lot is nicer) sold for $490,000. Base price on our home style is up $140,000 in same time frame...I am still in shock from hearing that!

Glad I kept the old car (SVT) and went for the new house instead of the other way around (something tells me the M3 I wanted back then would not have appreciated 37%!!).

1999 Amazon Green SVT Contour (#554/2760) "People demand freedom of speech as a compensation for the freedom of thought which they seldom use." -Soren Kierkegaard (as posted by Jato)