KB Home Founder: Worst Recession Since World War Two

Posted In: Economy, Home Prices, Homebuilders, Housing, Recession

Eli Broad, the billionaire investor who founded homebuilder KB Home, told Bloomberg yesterday that, “This is the worst period of my adult lifetime,” while speaking about the U.S. economy. Bloomberg’s Erik Holm and Anthony Massucci wrote this morning:

“This is worse than any recession we’ve had since World War II,” Broad, 75, said in an interview yesterday… “I do not think things are going to get any better” before the next president takes office in January.

Broad also shared his views on the floundering housing market. He told Bloomberg that the sale of vacant, unsold homes could take “several years.” Holm and Massucci wrote:

“The problem is, people don’t believe prices have bottomed out,” he said. “You’ve got to induce people to buy houses” with federal policies including tax incentives…

“I think housing is going to continue to have a corrosive effect on consumer psychology and the economy in general to a far greater extent than people think, or even far greater than I thought about a month or two ago,” he said.

Source:

“Broad Says U.S. Economy in Worst Recession Since World War II”
Erik Holm, Anthony Massucci
Bloomberg, July 1, 2008

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