Reply #7: 4 years ago ... I sold a custom Hubby and I had built to get near my ...

[Maat]

kid's school in the Temecula Valley. I walked in and offered the lady $360K, and she took it for a semi-custom. Bumped the contingent buyer. It was just empty lots everywhere. Now, there's a home or a store or a restaurant on every parcel of land. What used to take 5 minutes to negotiate, in terms of travel time, now takes 20 minutes. It's crazy.

4 years later, it has DOUBLED in value. That's how crazy it is up here - the San Diegans are coming up and buying everything in sight ... because they can still drive to work from here (we're about 1 to 1-1/2 hours north - inland).

The only reason I could afford that home is because we had bought our first townhome in Ontario, CA in 1986, and traded up ever since.

The cheapest home around here is going for over $200,000, and that would probably be a mobil or a townhome on the older side.

My younger sis and her hubby ... I don't know how they are going to buy their first home.

Now, my house IS new, and it is ridiculously large (4,700 sq. feet), but it is on a small lot. We were able to use solar power to run the pool setup.

So, you do get a semi-decent value out here.