Alan Greenspan tries to cover his wrinkled ass for posterity:
WALL STREET shuddered yesterday after Alan Greenspan, the United States’ central banker, warned American homebuyers that they risk a crash if they continue to drive property prices higher. He said that the US house-price spiral had become an economic imbalance, threatening stability like the country’s trade gap or its budget deficit.
In a pre-retirement speech to fellow central bankers at Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Mr Greenspan said that people were investing in houses as if they were a one-way bet, not allowing for the risk of price falls. He said “history had not dealt kindly” with investors who kept ignoring risks.
But… but… but I thought housing prices would go up forever! My real estate agent said real estate is the best investment anyone could possible make ever!
And remember, this is the guy who said detecting a bubble during a bubble is impossible, that it can only be done in hindsight. So, if he’s detected it, what can we logically conclude from that news?