I know this a lot like beating a dead horse, but I spent so much time in 2005 warning investors about the eventual end to the housing boom that I thought you would want to see this article- "Home Sales Decline in 28 States, D.C.".http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/060815/home_sales.html?.v=12
Most bubbles are fairly easy to recognize if you pay attention to the public. Just do the opposite of what they do and you'll be fine.
Here is what I said in response to a viewer question on June 02, 2005;
You're right that manufacturing is basically dead or dying in the US. And you're right that Greenspan does not want the current real estate situation to undergo the same fate as the NASDAQ bubble. The impact of a bubble popping in real estate would have a devastating impact on the economy. That being said, we need to remember that the Fed is not very good at engineering a soft landing. Also, people are generally greedy and unfortunately learn only from painful experiences.
We are in the 14th year of the current real estate boom. I do not know when its going to end, but several pieces of data are telling me we are closer to the 9th inning than the 4th inning. In 1980, total mortgage debt was less than 60% of personal income. When you compare this to 75% in the 1990's and 104% today, something's got to give.
