Is the housing market in a bubble? Is the cryptocurrency party about to blow up? This informal study is fascinating because it doesn’t come from the crypto world. The author, Rick Palacios Jr., is Director of Research at John Burns Real Estate Consulting. The results are surprising, to say the least. Especially considering how early we are. Whatever camp you’re in, one thing’s for sure, cryptocurrencies will be a big factor for the rest of the decade. Maybe for the whole century, even. Related Reading | Virtual Real Estate Takes Off With Backing From Billionaire Mike Novogratz Palacios Jr. begins by painting the current situation’s general picture: “Low interest rates and a world awash in liquidity set the stage for financial markets and asset-value froth as an adult today. As market participants, we watch with a healthy dose of nervousness, wondering just how long we’ve got until the inevitable bubble-bursting cleanup ensues.” Even though the housing market is on the rise, “this period of ephemeral effervescence isn’t sustainable.” He doesn’t get into the rampant money printing that his country is living with, but we will. Inflation is one of the effects of all of these inorganic dollars entering the market. Another effect is that people feel, maybe subconsciously, that their money is losing purchasing power and turn to hard assets. Before Bitcoin, real state was the hardest asset there was. It’s only logical for the new...
