2006 is going to be awesome ...
Many more people are getting into domains - the best times are yet to come ... there is still a lot of money to be made in all price ranges ...
There is a lot of cash out there - many folks are seeking new investment opportunities, including real estate investors who are seeking higher yields than what they're getting now in a stagnating real estate market.
In regards to .COM - that's the premier namespace, but there are many people making good bank in other TLDs ... for those who think all the good .COMs are gone, you're mistaken ... I'm picking up good .COMs all the time for less than $100 here in DNF for sale forums, on afternic, etc, the drops, and even occasionally brand new regs - just yesterday, I picked up a nice never-registered domain which could easily go around mid-$x,xxx right now resale - gems are still out there!
Ron