> There is even a concept used locally in housing market
> analysis which refers to the "pent-up demand" of first-time
> buyers for properties as a likely support for the market.
This gets mentioned in (Northern) California, too. But it's true: since the population is expanding and the supply of rental housing is fairly well fixed (and largely crappy), the urge to buy is big. The places that are selling all the new homes are getting further and further out on the transportation corridors (read: freeways). Pinole (north of SF) and Tracy (to the east) to name a few, but to the south there's Gilroy.
It's not at all like your pent-up demand for a Porsche.
/jordan