Well, it is only in the last couple of years that random people started calling me to ask if I want to sell my house for cash. So the trend has definitely acce

Well, it is only in the last couple of years that random people started calling me to ask if I want to sell my house for cash. So the trend has definitely accelerated. That said a driver for housing has been that over time we have had more people with bigger houses. So it has long been a demographic concern that as the Baby Boom retires, and goes to downgrade, we could wind up with a glut on the market. On top of that telecommute has opened up a significant move away from expensive urban areas like San Francisco. Both together mean that some housing markets have nothing to keep them from a severe fall. And if there is a crash, speculators trying to cover their shirts are likely to need to sell housing elsewhere, and the result could be a cascading problem.