Housing: Don't Compare the Current Housing Boom to the Bubble and Bust

Look instead at the 1978 to 1982 period for lessons

It is natural to compare the current housing boom to the mid-00s housing bubble. The bubble and subsequent bust are part of our collective memories. And graphs of nominal house prices and price-to-rent ratios look eerily similar to the housing bubble.

However, there are significant differences. First, lending has been reasonably solid during the cur…