I believe prices are going up from a combination of factors, scarcity one of the smaller ones. If maintenance costs were irrelavent Detroil wouldn't have gone bankrupt ;) It's said most Americans couldn't afford a $600 emergency. I believe most home owners can no longer afford a water main type emergency (gone are home equity loans). Real estate is a slow moving story.

After WWII the U.S. economy began expanding like no one's business. Then in the 1970s it crashed. My point is that your question was probably asked in the 1960s. I don't know what will happen! But I don't think it takes much to derail anything people believe will last forever! HAHA