'Full Rebound' in Housing a Year Away: Larry Fink
By: As the inventory of unsold U.S. homes drops to a more manageable level, the U.S. housing industry is inching closer to a complete rebound, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink told Maria Bartiromo in an interview on CNBC's "Closing Bell."
“The fundamentals for the U.S. economy are quite strong," Fink said. "We’re about a year away from a full rebound in American housing.”
He cited rising housing prices in some states as evidence of the ongoing rebound in housing as the industry becomes a "better economic engine."
Europe, however, is a seven-year fix, Fink said. He thinks the European Central Bank has come up with a "great plan" for solving the region's debt crisis but but politicians need to agree.
In the U.S., the impending "fiscal cliff," when automatic tax increases and spending cuts kick in on January 1, also concerns Fink.
"The fiscal cliff is probably the biggest problem facing us," he said. "We are already seeing a slowdown in the U.S. economy. I know many CEOs who are sitting with large sums of cash.”
If the government comes up with comprehensive plan to handle it, Fink predicted that investors would "see a huge rally."
But if the problem drags on until February or March, the economy will plunge into recession in the first quarter.
“Despite my bullishness out a year, we could have some real volatility,” Fink said.
This volatility would be "a great buying opportunity for everybody out there."
“I don’t think we’re going to be seeing a relaxation in volatility," he said. "Volatility is going to be with us, and it’s going to create fear."