Columnist takes no satisfaction in real estate slowdown

Orange County business columnist Jonathan Lansner writes Sunday that readers chided him five years ago when he wrote that he believed the housing market in California had reached its peak. Now that housing prices are dropping, readers want to know if Lansner is gloating.

He wrote, “Nothing could be further from the truth.

“For starters, this Orange County homeowner – for 21 years — enjoys appreciation as much as anybody else. As an employee in a business that sells real estate advertising, I’m no fool: Part of my paycheck comes from a healthy housing industry. And you may be shocked, but not every journalist thrives on the carnage of war or recession or the like.

“So, trust me, my emotional bias is to the upside when it comes to real estate.

“The little spreadsheet inside me, however, does the worrying. And when you see a rapidly fattening premium for any item – from homes to stocks to Beanie Babies – I tend to question whether it’s a rational extra price worth paying.”

Read more here. Lansner explains the numbers he looks at when writing about the real estate market.