Seattle Times' Silly "Logic" Mocked Further

It would seem that there's at least one person out there that agrees with my analysis of the recent Seattle Times article, "Housing market sizzles, shows no sign of bubble." That person would be Bill Fleckenstein, who writes:

That oxymoronic headline sets the tone for what follows -- a very creative, though completely false, bit of analysis: "Despite conjecture that the local housing market is a high-priced bubble ready to burst, key signs of weakening are nowhere to be seen." Got that? The writer argues that if there is no inventory due to houses selling fast, housing can't be in a bubble.

As Mr. Fleckenstein correctly points out, such an argument makes no sense. It would be like saying "it looks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, but all ducks eventually die. This one is completely healthy; therefore it cannot be a duck."

(Bill Fleckenstein, MSN Money, 07.18.2005)