Reply #2: Long Island's housing bubble has to burst

[union_maid]

It's bizarre and there's no way for it to wind up well for everyone concerned. These days you can't get anything for less than $250k and I mean ANYTHING. A handyman special in a bad neighborhood, a two bedroom condo, anything you can stuff a small family into. While young families are saving up a down payment of 50k or more, they can rent a two bedroom apartment, sometimes for as little as $1500 a month. Of course that can go a lot higher, too. There are still poor people, but there are no more cheap neighborhoods. It'll cost a small fortune to live in a veritable slum. This just can't be a good thing, and I speak as someone lucky enough to have had my home for 30 years and it's only lightly refinanced. If prices come down to a realistic level there are going to be thousands and thousands of people holding mortgages for 50-100k more than their homes are worth. If prices don't come down, no one who makes a normal living will buy homes here, businesses will not be able to hire and the area is headed for some very bad times. Or at least that seems to be the logical result of this situation.