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Housing is a huge component of the US economy. Total value in 2018: $33.3 trillion [1], 1.6x GDP (20.9 trillion) [2]. Tech is about 5% of GDP [3]. [1] https:/
by T-A 8y ago
Housing is a huge component of the US economy. Total value in 2018: $33.3 trillion [1], 1.6x GDP (20.9 trillion) [2].
Tech is about 5% of GDP [3].
[1] https://www.housingwire.com/articles/47847-us-housing-market-value-climbs-to-333-trillion-in-2018 https://www.housingwire.com/articles/47847-us-housing-market...
[2] https://www.thebalance.com/u-s-gdp-5-latest-statistics-and-how-to-use-them-3306041 https://www.thebalance.com/u-s-gdp-5-latest-statistics-and-h...
[3] http://www.ianhathaway.org/blog/2017/5/31/how-big-is-the-tech-sector http://www.ianhathaway.org/blog/2017/5/31/how-big-is-the-tec...
- opportune 8y agoYou're comparing the total value of all housing to GDP vs. an actual percent of GDP. That's not an apples to apples comparison. A quick lookup tells me construction is about 4% of GDP. And financing/ancillary services for that construction, if I had to estimate, might make up another 2% at most. Which is pretty close to tech
- T-A 8y agoYes, but what happened in 2008, and caused the crisis referred to by rapsey, was that housing lost a large fraction of its value. It was not a drop in construction, financing etc that tanked the economy; it was the loss of value, which left a giant hole in balance sheets. The apples-to-oranges comparison was introduced by rapsey, I merely provided the numbers.