SAN FRANCISCO -- All the comforts of home and then some. That's the upshot of a trade show for West Coast home builders and the companies that make products for them.
On display at the Moscone Center were fancy faucets, kid-sized toilets, oversized whirlpool baths and computerized wine vaults. There was also an array of solar and energy-efficient products that can reduce energy bills.
The four-day PCBC show (formerly known as the Pacific Coast Builders Conference) was expected to draw more than 34,000 building industry professionals by the time it wraps up today.
And the word from economists who talked was that -- surprise -- the housing bubble is not bursting, we're just in for a soft landing.
That is, as long as there is not a recession that results in massive job losses.
"Barring that sort of event, we don't expect a significant fallout in house prices," said Stuart Gabriel, a director at the Lusk Center for Real Estate at the University of Southern California.