Lowering housing inventory is key to solving the ailing real estate market and broader economy, said David Rosenberg, Merrill Lynch chief North American economist.
“We still have more sellers than buyers,” he said. “It’s pretty fool-hearted to believe that anything is going to reach any sustainable low until we put in a firm bottom on residential real estate valuation across the country.”
With 11.5 months of unsold inventory still left in the real estate market, said Rosenberg, the housing problem should be tackled from the supply-side.
“We’re tackling this from the demand side when the home ownership ratio in this country is already at 68 percent,” he said. “It’s not as if we have a lot of pent-up demand for housing.”
Municipalities should stop issuing building permits, he said: “I’m flabbergasted that we’re seeing housing starts at all.”
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