2002-06: An “Unhealthy Dependence on Construction”

It is clear in retrospect that in parts of the Sun Belt, the economic dependence on construction reached unhealthy levels in recent years. -NYT

File that sentence under “stating the obvious.”.

The reporter seems to have overlooked the fact that some people found it obvious — not in retrospect, mind you, but in real time. One only needed to have looked at the data and then compared it to historical metrics to reach the obvious conclusion that housing was way off kilter. What was taking place was a backwards, real estate driven economy.