The New Normal has definitely arrived in the US housing market.
US new home sales are down 80% from their peak, and builders are getting desperate. Offers in the Chicago area now include a $17k credit for a GM car, when a buyer closes the deal.
As the New York Times comments, "a long-term shift in behavior seems to be under way":
• Buyers no longer want "the biggest and the newest"
• Insead, they prefer "something smaller, cheaper"
• They also want to be "as close to their jobs as possible"
These are dramatic changes, with major implications for chemical companies.
The blog will soon start exploring the key demographic issues behind these changes, in a new eBook, co-authored with John Richardson.
Titled 'Boom, Gloom and the New Normal - How the Western BabyBoomers are changing Chemical Demand Patterns, Again', it begins publication on ICIS.com next month.