Melody Wright joins Julia La Roche on episode 252 to discuss the state of the U.S. housing market.

Sponsor: This episode is brought to you by Monetary Metals.

https://monetary-metals.com/julia

In this episode, Melody debunks the "inventory shortage" myth in housing and reveals startling truths about the current market. She explains how March home sales fell below 2008 levels despite population growth, discusses the hyperfinancialization of real estate through Wall Street and Airbnb investors, and shares insights from driving 10,000 miles across America to observe housing conditions firsthand. Melody also exposes ongoing defaults from the 2008 crisis and offers hope for frustrated millennial homebuyers waiting for affordability to return. Throughout our conversation, she provides a sobering look at what our distorted housing market reveals about the broader economy.

Links:

YouTube; https://www.youtube.com/@m3_melody

X: https://x.com/m3_melody

Substack: https://m3melody.substack.com/

Timestamps

0:00 Introduction and welcome Melody Wright

0:23 Setting up the big picture on housing and real estate

1:08 The context of the housing market's current state

3:18 Worst housing market in our lifetimes - March sales lower than 2008

4:18 Discussion of housing bubble and unaffordability

5:47 Hyperfinancialization of housing

6:15 Wall Street's role in housing after the GFC

7:32 The short-term rental craze and Airbnb saturation

9:03 How to see the real housing inventory numbers

11:06 Debunking the inventory myth and where the market is headed

12:58 FHA loan issues and foreclosure programs

15:07 Hope for millennial homebuyers

16:42 Advice for first-time homebuyers 18:08 What the housing market says about the economy

19:00 Commercial real estate situation and empty buildings

20:35 Insights from driving 10,000 miles across America

22:43 Unlearned lessons from the Global Financial Crisis

23:51 Ongoing defaults from the 2008 crisis

25:02 What a healthy housing market would look like

26:26 Closing thoughts