Wailing and Gnashing of teeth (U.S. property market..)

[Akrasia]

Hedge fund manager and CNBC pundit Jim Cramer went a bit mad there recently about the prospect of a total meltdown in the U.S. property market.

He is convinced that up to 7 million people will lose their homes as the Fed Reserve keeps increasing interest rates and the rest of the media and politicians pretend that 'everything's gonna be fine'

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Is this a glimpse into the future of Irish property I wonder?

[qtman]

This guys make a name for themselves with this sort of carry on, but what is happening the the US is serious.

There have been 3 major dips in equity markets in the last 18 months. The previous 2 righted themselves within a fortnight, but the current one looks like its bedding in, despite strong fundamentals in markets outside the US.

The fear seems to be that US consumers will be to stretched trying the keep their homes to concern themselves with buying foreign imports.

If the market doesn't turn the corner this week, we're all going to catch a cold very soon.

[meriwether]

As Im only a young buck (24) Im one of the many people out there hoping to god there is a property crash here in Ireland, so I can afford a house in the next 7-10 years.
If there's not, the US might be an appealing place to emigrate, what with the Apple pie, and the Rockies, and the babysitters club, and possibly cut-price property.

[Squire Allworthy]

If we are lucky we will have a moderate downturn in the property market followed by a long period of stagnation. If we are unlucky it will drag the economy into recession. Property is overpriced and the current prices were based on historically low interest rates. Interest rates are likely to go up another 1/2-1% before they peak. However if this happens I would worry about the possibility of recession.

The world economy has been driven by borrowings. That can't continue. It will be interesting to see how China fairs. Trade surplus but the political consequences of a severe downturn could have far reaching consequences.