I thought I'd share some prognostications from talking heads in the media that I came across recently:

• “The prices of houses seem to have reached a plateau, and there is reasonable expectancy that prices will decline." (Time, December 1, 1947)

• “Houses cost too much for the mass market. Today’s average price is around $8,000—out of reach for two-thirds of all buyers." (Science Digest, April, 1948)

• "The goal of owning a home seems to be getting beyond the reach of more and more Americans. The typical new house today costs $28,000." (Business Week, September 4, 1969)

• "The era of easy profits in real estate may be drawing to a close." (Money, January, 1981)

• "The golden-age of risk-free run-ups in home prices is gone." (Money, March 1985)

• "Most economists agree… [a home] will become little more than a roof and a tax deduction, certainly not the lucrative investment it was through much of the 1980s." (Money, 1986)

• "Financial planners agree that houses will continue to be a poor investment." (Kiplinger’s Personal Financial Magazine, November 1993)