My Indian friend called my attention to the following article: http://www.cnbc.com/id/33861616
   Incidentally, my writing is mainly about investment in US and/or AU stocks and properties. The intended audiences include Aussies, Americans, etc. So I will use English. I guess that his question is when is the bottom of the US housing market. I do not pay close attention to the US property market because I have no intention to buy. I pay closer attention to the stock market. Even a guru like Warren Buffet can still buy too early or too late. His view is the long term. I feel that the US residential property market is near the bottom. On the other hand, only after the employment situation improves can the housing market sustain a rebound. In other words, there is no quick rebound. So the next 3 - 4 years are probably the best time to buy US residential properties.
   
   To appreciate how US property market has fallen, some SF Bay Area single family homes are priced below Melbourne or Brisbane similar. This is ridiculous. I have been to many US cities and states before. Only along the US west coast line, from Seattle to San Diego, is where I would prefer to retire. Along this line, SF Bay Area and San Diego are perhaps the best weatherwise. For an Asian, Bay Area is the top of the world. In Aug.2005, I came to Melbourne and then in May, 2006 I came to Brisbane. When my GP in Brisbane wanted me to compare US with Brisbane, I said to him the house is cheap here. I was comparing 1M plus or minus in the Bay Area with $350K single family house and $220K condo’s in Brisbane. Now with Aussie dollar runs so high against the US dollar and US housing cut 30% to 50% while most Brisbane single family homes are selling A$500K+ and townhouse for $400K or so. (http://www.oursteps.com.au/bbs/viewthread.php?tid=143229)
   

   With Aussie dollar so high, is it time to jump into US housing market? First, US market is quite different from Aussie market. If you travel to the US, you rarely see real estate agencies. If you from Australia buy a property in the US market, who is going to look after the property? Do not tell me that you intend to fly to US at a telephone call of toilet leak or a renter fails to pay this month’s rent for whatever reason. I know some friends in the US manage their rental properties. Maybe they can quit their job and starting a business caring for Aussie investors (just kidding).
   
   Since Aussie dollar is rather high, is it wise to convert some Aussie dollars to buy US stocks? This is a tricky question. I will first analyse this crisis in the next post.
   
   
   王蔚：次贷危机的根本原因是政府干预市场
   http://my.cnd.org/modules/wfsection/article.php?articleid=22711