Josh Sigurdson talks with author and economic analyst John Sneisen about the latest news out of California as the housing bubble continues to weaken and yet still get propped up by government through Governor Gavin Newsom’s latest housing initiative.
UCLA adjunct professor Jerry Nickelsburg who is also the director of the Anderson School of Management’s forecast has predicted that as the housing markets continue to soften in California, it’s likely to cool further into 2020.
Well that’s one way to put it! People are fleeing California in large numbers for places like Nevada and Arizona all while we see similar things happen out of New York, New Jersey and into places like Florida. It’s not going to end well. We are seeing the return of all the things we saw in 2007. Collateralized Debt Obligations, mortgage backed securities, subprime lending, credit default swaps, etc.
So what’s being done about it?
Government is flooding the market with more employees attempting to mitigate risk by propping up the system, bringing in countless construction workers and then at the same time pledging to build 500,000 homes a year going into 2025. There were only 120,000 homes built in 2018. This sounds very much like the policy out of China to build and manipulate and grow without considering the vast consequences and how it will affect individuals. This according to Nickelsburg is a state-wide problem that goes further than just San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego.
The solutions come down to the individual more than anything. Individuals must be self sustainable, financially responsible and decentralize their lives without being dependent on a giant centralized entity.