This bidding war is over

5 Greenwich Cove Drive, in Shorelands, reports a contract just days after it hit the market at $1.695 million. It’s almost certainly headed for the dumpster and will be replaced by a house costing three times as much.

My daughter Kate expressed her frustration to me yesterday that she and husband keep losing out to builders as they search for a starter home in Oregon. I told her that market cycles do go through that, and I sympathized. I (tried to) console her with one observation I’ve made over the decades: sooner or later, markets turn down, and a slew of over-extended builders will follow them to the bottom. Schadenfreude is not a replacement for a roof overhead, but it does make the rain feel warmer.