Fat Wallets; Fatheads

Just cause they got money, don't mean they got any sense.

See Denver Post business columnist Al Lewis for proof:

If there's a housing bubble about to burst, wealthy homeowners may not see it coming.

In a survey of wealthy Americans by Pittsburgh-based PNC Financial Services Group Inc., 65 percent said they expect to see double-digit increases in the value of their homes over the next five years.

Thirty-one percent said they anticipate an increase of 20 percent or more.

And only 7 percent said they expect to see any decline in the value of their homes.

The survey canvassed 1,500 people with liquid assets of $500,000 or more.

"Many among the wealthy will not believe there is a real-estate slowdown until they see it reflected in their property values," said Nicholas Buss, PNC's real- estate economist.

So far, that's not happening for owners of high-end homes, even as slowly rising interest rates have softened the residential real-estate market overall.

— The Boy in the Big Housing Bubble