Just to put housing prices in Los Angeles in perspective, we bought our small 1000 sq foot town house condo a year and a half ago. I just found out this week that our neighbors sold their comparable unit for 30% more than we paid for ours. It boggles my mind.

Of course, the urge is to cash in on the place, but then what? We love it in Los Angeles so we’re not ready to leave to cheaper pastures. Even with the equity we have, we still wouldn’t be able to afford a nicer place than we have unless we move out to the boondocks. Not to mention that rent on a unit like ours is more than we are paying in monthly mortgage fees. Instead, we plan to continue riding the housing wave and hope that if the bubble bursts (which I hope it doesn’t), it won’t burst 30%.