Today, it seems like we’re more in 2006 than in 2017. A Republican is president of the United States, stocks are surging, consumers are borrowing at soaring rates and debt and deficits will suddenly become a major issue for the Democrats.
Oh, and Americans are flipping houses again, an investment tactic that was a trademark of the housing bubble.
According to a new report from Trulia (via Bloomberg), home flipping accounted for 6.1 percent of home sales in the U.S. last year. This is the highest share of the housing market since 2006, when the rate was 7.1 percent of sales. The resurgence of house flipping comes as home prices have increased.
House flipping rates have surged in cities where there were immense numbers of foreclosures. Here are some of the cities with the highest flipping rates:
– Las Vegas, Nevada
– Tampa, Florida
– Fresno, California
– Memphis, Tennessee
– Atlanta, Georgia
Does this mean that the housing bubble is on the verge of popping once again and creating mass destruction? Not necessarily, and definitely not anytime soon. However, it is yet another signal that another economic collapse is likely going to happen because you have all of the ingredients: cheap credit, lax standards, money printing and government meddling.
Unfortunately, this time it is much worse because the United States – the government, consumers and investors – is facing greater debt levels.
When we fail to learn from history…………..