Long time lurker. Got relocated from Europe to Irvine in 2006. I don't remember what stunned me the most back then, the WTF Irvine Prices or the fact that we were offered ridiculously huge amounts of money via mortgages. I could not believe it, I had no employment history in the US, no credit history and, as we didn't sell the property at home, not much in way of down payment, nevertheless lenders offered to finance hundreds of thousands of dollars. Insane! IHB and the Forums were one of the beacons of sanity that reinforced our decision not to purchase under these circumstances. Mid 2006 we decided to rent in Turtle Rock and thoroughly enjoy it here, especially as rents went down the past years. Hey, we might even consider purchasing here in a few years (when buying makes more sense than renting).
I have to admit that I'm still flabbergasted by the way the developments at IBH turned out. It feels like I'm still waiting/hoping for an explanation for all this.