"In the last 20 years, I’ve never seen anything like it," said Chuck Whitehead, general manager for Coldwell Banker's Southwest Riverside operations. "I bought my first house in 1996, a four-bedroom for $124,000, and I could probably buy that same house for $124,000. All the appreciation we've gained in the last 15 years, it's gone."

15 years of crazy real estate speculation and all that pretty appreciation is gone. And what did all that debt do for the people and the country? Worse than nothing, it ruined us. It will be a long rebuilding process.