2 of 32

Write now Article Tools

It was an astounding sight to witness. As I braced myself for the possibility of a third round of layoffs at my ailing Northern Virginia telecommunications firm, my wife and I continued our home search, hoping for the best. The tech crash had already decimated the dot-com side of the tech world, and unfortunately, telecom was to be next on the hit list.

Interestingly enough, the tech crash that began in March 2000 didn't cause a major recession, though to many tech workers who were unable to find gainful employment in the following years, it felt like an outright depression. The main reason for this disparity is because much of the money (and many of the jobs) went into the nascent housing boom. I will never forget seeing the face of President George W. Bush on television circa late 2002 to early 2003 cleverly spinning in the very midst of the tech recession: "This was the shortest and shallowest recession in U.S. history." But then again, it was his father that coined the phrase, "It's the economy, stupid."

If you want to know greed gone awry, look no further than the great housing boom of 2000-2007. Time after time, I was compelled to scrape my jaw up off the floor as my eye caught the sight of multiple competing buyers sitting at the kitchen table drawing up contracts for $10,000+ dollars over the asking price of the home, on the very first open house day no less.

From that point onward, I was astounded as I saw speculative home prices skyrocket as ridiculously fast as the infamous dot-com stocks in the mid-to-late 1990s. Even more perplexing was the enigma of increasing sales in spite of declining affordability, as prices quickly outstripped even the higher echelon of salaries. And then came the infamous flippers and speculators who will become iconic symbols of greed and avarice in the midst of the greatest housing boom in American history.

One Annandale, Virginia townhome my wife and I toured was so completely in need of repair, I simply couldn't see anybody purchasing it. The foundation was cracked; the basement walls were wet from multiple leaks; the hot water heater was leaking all over the floor; the carpeting was half ripped out; the kitchen needed a full remodel; not to mention the fact that the entire place reeked of cat urine. We shook our heads in disbelief; and yet, to our utter shock, that townhome sold the next week, for over $200,000.

Soon, stories of bidding wars broke asunder as buyers worried they'd miss the boat gleefully shelled out well

• 1
• 2
• next page >>

Add your voice

Know something about Greed, lust, pride and the fading American dream?
We want to hear your view. Write now!