if you like reading about the destruction of home equity/values, you might want to check out this website (not mine)
http://www.irvinehousingblog.com/
it has some nice in-depth of examples of how people are gettingclobbered by the irrational house buying/speculation that has taken place in So. Calif.
The neighborhoods discussed are in Irvine, Calif next to UC-Irvine and are a very nice and up-scale nieghborhood that probably would cost 1/3 as much anywhere else in the country. :shocked
Happy reading.