"Do We Really Need A Second Home"

Julie Brosterman who writes for Inman News always has her own take on things, like the time she reported that the Social Security changes would boost RE. Now she's back with a story that only could come out of California; impulse buying for a second home.

"During dinner on Friday night, the conversation was all about real estate prices in Palm Springs and the latest projects that our friends had made offers on. I clung to every word and by Saturday morning I had agreed that rather than go shopping in the fabulous vintage shops, I'd tag along with them to look at some of the 'opens.'"

"We realized that the market there is even more insane than in Los Angeles. Some of the houses are clearly "flips" and others look like they're made from cardboard."

"We debated. We mulled it over. And by Sunday, we were almost depressed by the thought that we might have 'missed the boat' out there and that $600K is the new $400K and after all, 'do we really need a second home?'

So they held off, and went back to the paradise that is LA. "Los Angeles is not a place where residents 'go away for the weekend' and when they do, the traffic and time it takes to leave town usually leaves everyone thinking that it's just not worth it."

"When I first moved here in 1983, I couldn't believe how many native Californians I met who had never been out of the state." That explains a lot.