[quote=Nor-LA-SD-GUY2]Just getting back to the normal number of RE transactions would put us very close to 6% unemployment in SoCal I believe.
The drastic cut back in building over the last 5 years has far exceeded the overbuilding from 2001 to 2006 . It’s just that the economy is broken so household formation has been in a drastic crimp as well.[/quote]
According to the NAHB, housing’s contribution to GDP (including housing fixed investment and housing services) was 18.5% in 2005, and 14.9% in Q1 2011. So, while it’s certainly dropped, it’s not the end of the world.
Some would argue that allowing housing prices to fall **and washing out all that debt** is the #1 way to get the economy going again. The economy would actually ramp up because families would have **affordable housing,** and less debt to service, allowing them to save and spend their money in other, more productive ways.
We’ll never be able to solve our problems for as long as we’re incorrectly defining them. Our problems will not be resolved until we address the oursourcing of our jobs. That is the #1 problem with our economy, and there are too few politicians who have the guts to piss off their most powerful masters by speaking the truth.
