Rating: 
Summary: Very Good!
Review: The author gives the reader a very good description of the inner workings of the real estate market and has done the reasearch to also provide the numbers behind what he preaches. I would consider it a must read for anyone interested in learning how the real estate market works. Especially those of you with a background in financial analysis.As far as his suggestions are concerned, while I definitely agree with the avoidance of overleveraging at such high price levels, I wouldn't go as far as telling readers to avoid buying a house or even selling their own. The reason being, not that I do not agree that the prices are overinflated (especially in "hot" markets), but because neither I, nor the author can tell when the correction is going to happen. While I do agree that we'll probably see a price drop in housing prices in the next few years (of a 20 to 40% magnitude as the author suggests), noone can tell if the house you might postpone buying today might go up another 20-30% in the next couple of years and when the correction happens we'll pretty much be at square 1. And who knows where the interest rates might be then... The book however is still a "strong buy" for me...
Rating: 
Summary: This book helped me decide not to buy a new house
Review: The author made some excellent points. I have read some of the same things in several recent magazine articles, but he went into greater detail and was very convincing. When I first started reading this book in the book store, the title made me think it was one more sensational doom and gloom type book on the economy that was designed to sell books without giving the reader any accurate information. That was not the case. The author seems to have a firm grounding in economic principles. He makes his points, while explaining that there are always uncertainties in any market. If you are thinking about buying a house or investing in rental real estate I think you should read this book first. It convinced me that I should wait another year before buying a larger house.
Rating:
Summary: A real estate book for the middle class
Review: The author, in clear and simple terms, examined how we got to this point where housing prices are increasing so rapidly. He discussed the history of the real estate market from the late sixties to the current day and also many factors contributing to the market today that the real estate selling and mortgage lending stakeholders don't like to talk about. This wasn't a dry narrative, but rather written in the style of friendly advice you might receive from a friend, if you were lucky enough to have an accomplished economist as a friend. It was refreshing to get advice from a neutral party, rather than from people with vested interests in keeping a housing bubble going.
Rating: 
Summary: setting the record straight
Review: The back flap of this book includes these words: "Are you among the millions of Americans who lost thousands in the tech-stock crash of 2000? Do you wish somebody had said something about the dangers of staking your future on overpriced, risky investments?" The fact is, there were at least two best-selling books that warned of the pending crash in tech-stocks BEFORE it happened-"The Internet Bubble" and "Irrational Exuberance." Be nice if you could do a little research to get your facts straight on this kind of thing!
Rating:
Summary: AMAZING INFO
Review: THIS BOOK BROUGHT A LOT OF ATTENTION OF WHAT REALLY GOING ON NOW!! IT'LL HELP YOU FIGURE OUT WHAT TO REALLY EXPECT WHEN THINGS ARE GETTING SEVERLY OUTTA HAND.
I'M ONLY 26 YRS OLD. AND FOR ME TO RECOMMEND THIS IS A TRULY REMARKABLE BOOK. I'LL SURELY PASS THIS ON TO OTHERS!!
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Book
Review: This book did an excellent job of explaining how overinflated and fragile the current housing market is. I learned quite a bit about how the system works; particularly the sections pertaining to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. I think this book is a must read for anybody even remotely interested in real estate, especially first time buyers or anyone thinking of "moving up" right now.
Rating: 
Summary: not convincing
Review: This book has some serious shortcomings. The author only goes back 35 years in history to show data. He should have gone back 150 years so that two major depressions could be used for historic data. The data he presents is flawed. He shows that in some markets houses cost 6 years income of an average individual. Since only half of the population owns houses and frequently have two workers, he should have done the ratio calculation for the family income of the people who own houses. We have gone through the worst stock market crash and state of unemployment in 70 years. Why did not the housing prices decline during that period? He shows the high level of personal debt. He then postulates what will result. Why did he not show historic situations that were similar and what resulted? This book reminds me of one written 27 years ago by a person with similar economic credentials. That book claimed that housing prices would decline for several decades after 1980. Have they? Another problem is the interjections of social engineering comments that are way off base. The author does not consider the effects on prices of the rising population and immigration of wealthy foreigners. The only thing I believe from the book is that when interest rates rise the housing prices will temporarily drop slightly.
Rating:
Summary: Re-Thinking Priorities
Review: This book is an excellent analysis of the current housing market by an accomplished financial expert. Particularly appealing is the fact that the book is not a doom-and-gloom text, despite its title. Rather, it exposes serious flaws in the underlying market for residential real estate, and shows how those flaws cause periods of overpricing as well as underpricing. It's surprising how the mantra that "real estate always appreciates" has so successfully lodged itself into the popular mindset. To refute this, an example is useful: An acquaintance of mine bought a condo in Washington, DC circa 1980-81. The year after his purchase, the condo dropped in value about 20%. It took SEVENTEEN years for him to get back to his breakeven level! But no worries, in the two or three years since he broke even (2000-2002), the condo appreciated to over 210% of his original purchase price. He immediately sold in early 2003. The selling price was over $110K for the 450 sq.ft. studio. Was he smart to sell? Very probably!! The best part of this book was the author's recommendation that we re-asess our priorities. It seems as if the excesses of the Internet boom are not over. People are still looking for get-rich-quick schemes, only this time it's housing rather than stocks. Maybe if we re-think our priorities in life, we'll realize that success doesn't come in a day, and success rarely ever comes to those who delude themselves into thinking they can get rich quick. Most people take decades to become successful; maybe these people know something that speculators do not.
Rating:
Summary: Certain to offend
Review: This book is certain to offend the many millions of Americans who earn their living from the purchase and sale of real estate. Be that as it may, the author does an excellent job of justifying his position that in many markets, real estate appears to have appreciated to an unsustainable level. Considering the misinformation that the real estate industry publishes as "fact", Talbott's book is a worthwhile read if only to bring some balance to the argument. The fact that foreclosures are at record levels in a period of record low interest rates is troublesome. So is the rental vacancy rate in both the commercial and residential markets. Time will tell if Talbott is right. In the meantime, I'd recommend reading the book and deciding for yourself. Just don't ask your Realtor what he or she thinks.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: This book makes you think clearly in this crazy housing bubble. If you like this book, you would like to read "The Dollar Crisis".
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