But hey, at least we'll have shiny expensive new trolleys and light rail trains for the employed few to use, that is if they don't wind up being too expensive to even operate, like the Wapato jail.

Yet property taxes keep going up, up, up!

That's Measure 5. Which was a good idea overall. Without it, the taxes would be much, much worse.

Property taxes have nothing to do with falling home prices.

Real Portlanders look forward to paying higher taxes to ensure a comfortable retirement for the PFB and PPB employees with unfunded pensions. And ballpark remodels. And bioswales. And bike boulevards. And Portland Loos.

IT'S FOR THE CHILDREN!!!

It's also the endless bond measures that keep increasing the total property tax tab.

I vote no on bond measures now, period. Until more people do the same, however, we're doomed to Streetcar Hell.

Shoot, if prices keep falling dangerously, maybe I could afford one of them someday.

Heavens to betsy... housing isn't skyrocketing now that easy money isn't available (along with no jobs)? I'm shocked and awed.

Despite what the NAR likes to believe, what goes up must come down.

The rule of thumb used to be, you can only afford a house that is twice your annual income.

But when houses started climbing that rule went out the window.

It is no wonder we are in such a mess.

The banks have been trying to keep house prices inflated so that they can pretend to be solvent. That is why all of the "relief" money has been going to the banks- a failed attempt to revive a zombie.

I would recommend making sure you have some assets available that are NOT in a bank

Prices may be falling, but I sold my house last month on the same day it hit the market, for over asking price. Of course, I bought it long before the price bubble, so I didn't have to ask a ridiculous price just to break even.

Now I don't live in CoP or even MultCo. No paying for bike paths with my water/sewer bill, yay!

Shoot, if prices keep falling dangerously, maybe I could afford one of them someday.

Indeed, for some, such as first-time homebuyers, this is actually great news.For old-timers who bought a long time ago, they should still come out ahead if they want to sell or refinance. For those who had the misfortune to buy at the top of a deflating bubble (myself included), well, we just have to hope that we don't have to sell in the next 5 to 10 years and can keep our jobs.

Every comment above has a certain truth.

One remark I haven't noticed is that we have been sold a dream, that everyone deserves, almost a right, to own a home. This of course was disproved after the reality of rising interest rates forced many out of their recently purchased homes. About 7 years ago, I bought a house with no down payment. My only saving grace was that I adamently refused a flexible rate mortgage, and had 5 years of rise in value to provide enough equity to refinance it at a lower rate recently. The tenacity at which the mortgage brokers came at me, pressuring, threatening, begging me to take a flexible rate mortgage set off the alarm bells with me. Were I younger or less experienced, I might easily have succumbed to the pressure.
Home ownership was the last 'investment opportunity' open to most folks. We were sold ( and deluded) into believing house prices would never go down, that the house was our nest egg against tough times. Now, that house is a stolen dream, another testiment to the fact that Joe Citizen is gonna get F'd by every bank,Wall Street, the government, and the City Coucil..( sorry Amanda!)
If things seem bleak now, check back in with me in 10 years.

Yes, the latest report for the metro area shows a 2% annual decline. Portland proper has held up best, 0.9% decline in NE for example.

Why doesn't that seem "dangerous" to me?

Well I'm really glad we sold our home in Portland and moved to the Reno area. We lost about 8% on the sale of our split level home, as we had bought in 2005. But we're in a far newer (built 2005) and much nicer home now - and best of all the utilities, taxes and various fees such as sewer are far lower than in Portland. And no state income tax either...

Home prices are falling, really? If you scalp about another $100K off the price of what they are asking, THEN I'll think that both the prices are falling AND that they have finally fallen in line with what they should be priced at. Until then I pretty much laugh when people tell me that prices have fallen. My line, not far enough - not far enough.