Kass: They're Still Not Getting It on Housing

Jim Lacamp expressed the bullish view that the housing market will be "ring-fenced" and will not spill over into the economy or capital markets and that the fact that the markets are where they are is proof positive of the market's strength. He used the metaphor of "rope a dope" as an expression of the market's continued vigor. That reminds me of something that Jeremy Grantham recently wrote in this month's GMO Quarterly Letter:

Of course, I am fed up. We had Risk on the ropes. His followers were panicking. They were calling for the ref to stop the fight: "He has absolutely no idea how badly our boy is hurting ... He has no idea!" And what does the ref do? Ends the round early, extends the break, and allows a dangerous injection of adrenaline. Risk then leaps out of his corner, apparently rejuvenated, and wins the next couple of rounds. And here we are, wondering whether Risk has taken enough punishment to make him vulnerable to a knockout blow in a later round. Or has he completely recovered?
-- Jeremy Grantham, GMO Quarterly Letter, October 2007

From my perch, the bulls continue to ignore the ramifications of the housing market's depression not only on the economy but the spillover and contagion in the credit markets.

For example, ignored in last night's conversation was how the subprime fiasco has devastated the credit markets, as evidenced by the continued structured investment vehicle problems and the huge writeoffs of permanent capital at the leading money-center banks and investment bankers.

It is astonishing to me that the subprime-/housing-induced inflection point in credit, from credit expansion to credit contraction, continues to be ignored by market and economic bulls.

The ironic thing of course was that after several of the guests denied the very existence of the housing problem (what...? again), the next two segments were dedicated to Countrywide Financial's (CFC Quote) deal to renegotiate some of its adjustable-rate mortgages and the implications of Chapter 13 bankruptcy filings on homeowners whose mortgage problems have accumulated.

I have mentioned in the past that a 20% drop in home prices, as currently predicted in the Case Shiller Futures Index by 2011, means that about $4 trillion of consumer wealth will be wiped out. Another $500 billion to $1 trillion of losses looks to be taken by the financial institutions and hedge funds from the collateralized debt obligation mess.

That's close to the amount lost after the tech bubble -- and very large in the context of a $13 trillion U.S economy (the number Larry used last night). Moreover, the financial industry's reluctance to provide credit to homeowners provides another important economic headwind.

The housing problem ring-fenced? Not likely.