Business magnate Warren Buffett says the US housing market has made progress but has not yet made a full recovery.
"It's coming back," the billionaire chairman and chief executive
officer of Berkshire Hathaway said at an event at the New York Public
Library.
"Pricing is better in almost all markets by a reasonable percentage
from a few years ago. Housing starts are up somewhat. They still are not
where I would regard as an equilibrium point, where they match
household formation."
A rebounding housing market has helped Berkshire's subsidiaries that
make carpet, bricks, insulation and houses. Some of those businesses
have expanded in recent years through acquisitions as the industry
recovers from the worst slump in seven decades.
Buffett, 83, has been predicting a real estate revival for years and
positioning his company to benefit from it. He said in early 2010 that
the turnaround would probably begin "within a year or so". While that
call proved wrong, he has since reiterated that the industry would
rebound because of increasing population and limited supply.
http://www.scmp.com/property/international/article/1342877/berkshires-warren-buffett-says-us-housing-market-coming-back