I just returned from a week in Paris. Yes, I know; I'm a lucky, lucky person and we had a great time. Anyway, when I was last there eight years ago, I saw maybe one real estate office the entire time I was there. And now, there's a real estate office on every block. With beautiful pictures of apartments and flats for sale in the window. And they're not cheap -- studios in nice neighborhoods seem to be listing for $450,000 and up. I read that real estate has increased in price in Paris by 79% since 2005! I also understand that the Paris real estate market has slowed quite a bit (I have no knowledge of lending, title or mortgage issues there). So we're not the only country/state/city that had a real estate run-up and is now having problems, it seems.
