A Cup o' Joe and the morning paper

My wife is out for most of the day. Starting with a doctor's appointment, then moving on to a girls-day-out at the Women's Expo downtown. It's me, the dogs, my coffee and the morning paper.

Seems like at least twice-a-month we're getting another one of these stories. The housing market is booming, but jobs aren't keeping up and we're all gonna die! Okay, I'm exaggerating. A little.

New data is showing prices in metro-Phoenix have moved up over 30% year-to-year (March '04-March '05). There continues to be much squawking from many about how prices are setting new records (median price is now $213,000, up from the new record established in February) and being fueled by investors as opposed to residents. I have mixed feelings on this.

The reason I live in Arizona is because the housing market in my Southern California hometown has moved to the beyond-absurd. I've been priced out of that market for years. I understand the concerns of the city, advocate groups and everyday people who fear that owning a home is slipping beyond their reach.

On the other hand, as a home-owner all I can say is, "Bully!" My home was appraised in February for $195,000. Our same model is for sale down the street and around the corner for $285,000 (he's out of his mind if he thinks he'll get all of it, but even so!). This is a good thing for us. We're not chasing the next upgrade so I have no fear of a continued surge in prices keeping me out of a new home; if we move, it will be out of the area altogether.

Having seen this very phenomenon occur in Southern California, I confess that reading stories like this and others amuses me slightly. There's almost a sense of dread that the market is reaching a point of no return, that Phoenix is but days away from becoming another Los Angeles or San Francisco in terms of housing affordability. All I can say to that is, you've all got a long way to go before you get there!