Money magazine reporter Amanda Gengler '03 provided analysis during the July 8 broadcast of CNNMoney's "Issue Number One", a news program that probes the health of the American economy. Gengler addressed the nationwide mortgage pinch and rumors of economic collapse.
In her discussion of the real estate market, Gengler complained we have a bad habit of looking only to the job market as an index of real estate health. She recommended broadening our means of measurement to include not only jobs but the number of months of inventory on the market, the number of days for which homes are predicted to sit, and, simply, the number of homes for sale. She called six months of inventory a "healthy level," and pointed out today's market suffers under the strain of approximately 11 months' worth "just sitting on the shelf waiting to be bought." Gengler also urged her audience to give weightier consideration to local vital signs over national ones, saying "real estate is a local game."
In a later segment, Gengler responded to a question from a viewer who sought advice as to which protective financial measures he should take in case of economic collapse. Gengler judged a total economic breakdown improbable, but recommended augmenting emergency funds in case of a layoff. In her estimation, a two-income household should allot three to six months of emergency funds. The self-employed should save more, she added, and those in "hard hit" industries, such as construction and financial services, even more.
