Global housing market crash predicted - 2004-03-17
The global housing boom that has supported the world economy in the face of falling equity markets in the past few years is teetering on the edge of a crash, The Economist has concluded after a series of surveys.

The trigger for a house price crash could be a relatively modest uptick in interest rates as total levels of household debt are at record highs fuelled by borrowing and housing equity withdrawal on the back of historically low rates.
Read the full story at MSNBC

Southern Calif. home prices sets new record in Feb - 2004-03-17
Southern California home prices surged to a new record in February as buyers continued to lock in low mortgage interest rates to enter the region's already hot housing market, a report released on Wednesday said.

The median price paid for a Southern California home rose last month to a record high $351,000, up 2.3 percent from January and 20.2 percent from a year earlier, real estate information service DataQuick Information Systems said.
Read the full story at Reuters