‘Sober' Happy Days Are Here Again

ORANGE, CA-Despite the recent slowdown in housing prices and sales volume, as well as the looming specter of higher mortgages, panelists at Arixa Capital Advisors‘ recent first investment roundtable in Orange County were surprisingly sanguine about the future prospects for the single-family market.  In answering the topic question, “Are happy days here again?” Emile Haddad, president and CEO of FivePoint Communities, characterized the state of the market as “sober” happy days, as opposed to the “drunk” happy days of 2005.

Gerd-Ulf Krueger, principal economist of Krueger Economics, noted that the sizable rebound in housing prices following the real estate crash of 2009 is evidence that happy days are indeed here again. He called the rebound a “big bang,” but tempered his enthusiasm, saying that following any big bang there is an inevitable slowdown. We are entering a slower phase, he said, which is characterized by lower affordability.