The dream of home ownership

Seems so much a part of American life. But here in Los Angeles, home prices are so high that it is largely out of reach.

Postrel shares about an article she saw from the SF Chronicle. She quotes from it and I'll quote a portion of the quote she used:

Leamer calculated the average P/E for homes in several California metro areas by dividing the median price for a single family home by the average annual rent for a 2,000- square-foot apartment in each region. (You can get more and better data for apartments than rental homes, and the two tend to track each other.)
............
When the economy is booming, investors are willing to pay higher prices for stocks and houses because they think the earnings from these assets will grow faster than normal. Occasionally, they throw common sense out the window and start believing that earnings will continue upward in a never-ending spiral, untouched by forces like competition and economic equilibrium.

Her advice: If you're buying for the short term, don't.