Warren Buffett Bullish on Housing
Warren Buffett, the billionaire investor and Berkshire Hathaway CEO,
said on CNBC's "Squawk Box" recently that he'd "buy up a couple hundred
thousand" single-family homes if it was practical.
Buffett said that's because he believes purchasing a home with
ultra-low mortgage rates and holding it for the long-term has become a
better investment than stocks right now.
"Housing will come back, you can be sure of that," Buffett wrote in his annual letter to shareholders recently.
Buffett forecasts an increase in household formations, as more people
who moved in with their parents or family members during the recession
look to move out and get their own home soon.
"People may postpone hitching up during uncertain times, but
eventually hormones take over. And while 'doubling-up" may be the
initial reaction of some during a recession, living with in-laws can
quickly lose its allure," Buffett said.
Buffett said the recovery in the housing market could vary quite a
bit among local housing markets, however. He did not provide a timeline
of when he expected a full housing recovery, admitting that his
prediction last year that a housing recovery will take shape within the
year turned out to be "dead wrong."