Here, as promised, is what the chart looks like for the 14 metropolitan areas for which the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices go all the way back to 1987 (that is, before the last real estate bust, which sure doesn’t look all that dramatic on the chart, except maybe in LA):
A couple of comments: First, keep in mind that this chart shows the increase since Jan. 1987 in each of these metro areas, not that actual relative prices of the different metros. Second: How about that Portland, Ore.?