Some readers suggested a topic on phases of the bubble. "I’d be curious to discuss the phases of a housing bubble. By this I mean the media coverage and the general public’s perception of our situation. In my mind, when the public’s perception changes, this will be the beginning of the end. So far I think people aren’t buying because they can’t, not because they think it’s wise. I think we’re marching through the phases of the HB pretty quick here the last 6 months."

Media & Public Phases of a HB:

1) Real estate is wonderful (July 05)

2) There is no bubble (Fall 05)

3) Let’s ask NAR if there’s a bubble - nope, no bubble, just soft landing (Jan 06)

4) Media actually prints pessimistic articles while also mentioning NAR babble (March 06)

5) Public poll shows people acknowledge bubble, but not in their area (classic denial phase!)

6) WHAT’S NEXT?

A reply, "Add this to your timeline: 'The time has come to put this issue to rest…the nation’s home builders have said it, the Realtors have said it, and now Alan Greenspan has said it once again, in no uncertain terms: there is no such thing as a current or impending house price bubble.' - David Seiders, Chief Economist of the National Association of Home Builders, July 2002."

Another, "This is so true. I was talking with a friend who said that homes in his area have gone up because of the Seattle bubble, he lives 45 minutes south of Seattle, but he says Seattle prices will go down again, but the prices in his area won’t!"

From Delaware Online. "This spring selling season, the urgency is gone, real estate agents said. Not only are houses taking significantly longer to sell, the supply of homes for sale is burgeoning. In New Castle County, for example, the number of homes available for sale in March jumped 35 percent higher than the same month in 2005, while the number of new listings that month rose by 24 percent. And in what could be a sign of things to come statewide, the average price of a single-family home sold in Sussex County declined by 1 percent during the first quarter from the same quarter in 2005."

"Ben Levit and Mia Muratori have been looking for a bigger home near downtown Wilmington for two years. Last week, Muratori, visited one property where the owner had tacked a 26 percent increase onto the previous sale price. The house last sold in December 2004. She said the house hadn't been updated since the 1950s and needs about $100,000 in renovations. 'That seems like speculation to me,' Muratori said."

"Because real estate prices tend to go up very quickly and come down slowly, agents predict it will take six months to a year for sellers to back off in their pricing. Shanon Passmore just put her semidetached house in Wilmington up for sale. She backed off $10,000 from what she originally planned to ask, but the $215,000 asking price is still a 44 percent increase over what she paid for it in June 2004."

"'I don't think we're being aggressive at all considering what other houses in the area are selling for. I'd rather be a little higher and have more flexibility,' Passmore said."

"'I think it's human nature for people not to know when the party may be over,' said Lyman Chen, (broker) in Brandywine Hundred."