[grey_whiskers]

Your analysis was superb, except for that statement. There is no housing bubble; it's a sham ownership crisis.

Please explain what *you* mean by the words, "sham ownership crisis"? Recall that a great deal of the inflation (say in Nevada and Phoenix) was due to people buying 2nd homes as investments Ü la Robert Kiyosaki ("Rich Dad, Poor Dad")

These people still need housing. There will always be a housing shortage under the prevailing policies WRT immigration. We cannot ever catch up without a change in policy, and any change in policy has the potential to bring about an extreme disconnect between available jobs and existing skills in the labor force.

Details please? In particular, I read in the Wall Street Journal or somesuch, within the last 48 hours, that some cities in the United States have a supply of houses (at current rate of sales) for 7 1/2 months...!

Sorry, I'm not trying to sound that disagreeable, I am genuinely curious.

Cheers!

[editor-surveyor]

"(at current rate of sales) for 7 1/2 months...!"

Without your parenthetical caveat, the above would be quite remarkable, no?

The current rate of sales is mostly attributable to the exit from the mortgage market of several formerly active players, coupled with a significant elevating of net worth standards in qualifying for loans, no?