A report on realtors provides some insight into California's housing bubble. "As California's once-broiling housing market cools and inventories of unsold properties grow, veteran agents expect real estate rookies to start looking for easier ways to make a living. It's a cycle that has repeated itself again and again, said Diana Lusk, a longtime East County home seller."

"Based in Mission Valley, agent Anne Christensen says agents motivated chiefly by profit have hurt the industry's image. Many who purchased in a fevered market now find themselves in homes that don't suit their needs, she said. Some who invested in homes in hopes of turning a quick profit have been disappointed. At the peak of the market, people 'were so gung-ho to buy they were willing to grab anything that you threw at them,' said Reed Colwick, who became a San Diego agent about three years ago. 'Now buyers are more skittish.'"

"According to the San Diego Association of Realtors, the county's inventory of homes listed for sale was 6,657 in June 2004, when the boom market was still at its peak. Recently, the county inventory topped 17,000 dwellings."

"Lusk fears that the widespread use of loans with adjustable interest rates during the boom will leave many buyers financially stressed. 'They have paid top dollar for their houses,' she said. 'In most cases they have to refinance within five years. If they lose their jobs, they are in trouble.' Lusk said the real estate downturn of the mid-1990s taught her to be cautious. Sales dried up as home values dropped steeply, she recalled. 'I owed my charge cards a lot of money.'"