Terminally nonunique---we’re already seeing signs of a housing bubble.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas identified signs of a “brewing U.S. housing bubble” in a 2022 report. Though the sharp increase in home prices doesn’t indicate a bubble, the report found, there are other fundamental factors to consider. These include “shifts in disposable income, the cost of credit and access to it, supply disruptions, and rising labor and raw construction materials costs are among the economic reasons for sustained real house-price gains.”

When “there is widespread belief that today’s robust price increases will continue,” the housing market becomes unhinged from those fundamentals, the Dallas Fed report revealed. “If many buyers share this belief, purchases arising from a ‘fear of missing out’ can drive up prices and heighten expectations of strong house-price gains.”