THE GROUND IS GETTING SOFT

摘要

Over the past few years, the next best thing to holding shares in an Internet highflier was owning a home in one of the nation's hot real estate markets. In Silicon Valley, tales abound of Internet tycoons offering homeowners $1 million in cash. In Chicago, developers like David W. "Buzz" Ruttenberg, president of Bel-gravia Group Ltd., recall seeing 70-year-old grandparents buying high-rise condo units under construction—only to flip them for a quick profit. And in Austin, Tex., agent Sandy Goodwin surprised even herself last summer when she sold a home for $50,000 above the owners' $180,000 asking price.