Time will tell. Back in 1999 when the NASDAQ was pushing 5000, how many people saw a bubble about to pop? It's hard to recognize a bubble when you're in it.

I remember back in 1988 when our local real estate market crashed. In a matter of months, my home dropped in value sharply. I would've had to pay $10,000 to get rid of it. Fortunately, things turned around in 1992, but those were some bad years.

Real estate, like most other investments, falls under the "bigger fool than you" category. You pay an absurd price for something hoping that one day, and even bigger fool will pay you a lot more. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.