I am always fascinated by the spectre of blame that fills the commentary of the housing market, from insane commenters on Curbed, to mainstream media sound bites. Last fall, before the outbreak of subprime fever, I had noticed the beginning of the transition from housing bubbles to mortgages.

Daniel Gross in his always interesting Moneybox column on Slate writes about the widespread blame on the housing market for our nation’s woes in The Real Estate Blame Game: the unlikeliest victims of the housing slump.

Here’s a summary of the problems caused by a weak housing market:

* Pickup truck sales
* Railroads
* Boat retailers and manufacturers
* All of Latin America

But we all know that the weather is the cause of all of housing woes so we can safely say that pickup truck sales, railroads and boat retailers, especially those who are exported to Latin America, are severely impacted when the snow on the ski trails in Utah, feel as light as champagne.

Sigh

4 Comments

  1. Dude April 25, 2007 at 12:57 pm

    I wonder JM, do you even know what you’re talking about anymore?

  2. Jonathan J. Miller April 25, 2007 at 3:03 pm

    Dude – no, not really.

  3. Teresa Boardman April 28, 2007 at 7:13 am

    Here in MN we did have a dip in sales during a huge snow storm, as for the rest of the year I think there is something in the water.

  4. Marc Brinitzer April 28, 2007 at 4:19 pm

    I haven’t been reading your blog long enough to know if your tongue is planted firmly in your check or if you’re poo-pooing the notion that the real estate slowdown will shrink consumer spending and have ramifications in everything from truck sales to Latin American economies.

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