1. Houses are too damn expensive in Arizona. I really believe prices are unsubstantiated here and will likely fall by 20% or more over the next couple years. I don’t know who they think will be buying these overpriced things, but I imagine people who purchased over the last year or two will be disappointed when they realize how much their home is worth 2 years from now.

2. I don’t plan on staying in Arizona forever. I got lucky to have made as much as I did when I sold my house last year. The next time I buy a house though, I want to make sure I’ll be there for awhile.

3. The whole buying and selling process stressed me out a little too much. I had some expensive maintenance costs along the way too. I definitely felt a little trapped by owning a house. I didn’t like knowing that I was tied to a particular area and that I needed to keep my job to be able to make the payments.

Here’s a chart of the Phoenix real estate market…

Since there is no intrinsic value, collectibles’ values are highly susceptible to their popularity. Nostalgia is a big contributor to the popularity of many types of collectibles. Baseball cards, action figures and comic books are all highly sought after by baby boomers who want to get their hands on something that reminds them of their youth. When I was younger I bought a lot of comic books. The 1989 Batman movie turned me into a huge Batman fan. I probably own every Batman comic printed from 1990-1996. Are kids today interested in comic books. I don’t know. I have to believe that the interest is waning. There are too many other distractions. Video games provide an alternative to sitting around reading comic books. What happens when today’s comic collectors die off. The successive generations of kids who didn’t collect comics will get older, and may place less value on obtaining these items which weren’t a part of their youth.

This article suggests that antique furniture prices are dropping. Perhaps today’s wealthy class no longer desires antique furniture to decorate their homes. A more modern look may be in vogue these days creating less demand for furniture that was more expensive in the past.