[img_assist|nid=12707|title=US Home Ownership Bubble|desc=|link=node|align=left|width=400|height=340]
Here’s another way of looking at the bubble – the chart shows the percentage of homes in America that are owned
Bubble theory says we will retrace this bubble to its start in 1995 or so
There may have been some structural changes in our economy such that this bubble will only collapse to the 65/66% level and not all the way to 64%
On the chart I have marked:
– 1987 when Greenspan became Fed Chairman – did the credit/debt bubble start all the way back then?
– 1997 when the capital gains exemption was enacted (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/19/business/19tax.html)
– 1998 when San Diego metrics departed from their historic range
– 2002 when massive monetary easing began
– 2006/7 when San Diego’s peak occurred
To do a thorough job of analyzing the housing bubble we might want to ask the question, “Is this JUST a housing bubble or is there a bubble in credit/debt that is collapsing along with the housing markets?”
IF there is a credit/debt bubble collapsing, we might have to go all the way back to 1987 when Greenspan took over the printing presses or even 1971 when Nixon closed the gold window
Regardless of where the ultimate bottom is, that bottom is far below current levels …
