The Housing Crash: Blame It On Saturday Night Live
January 25, 2011

And now for a bit of whimsy in the wake of today's depressing Case-Shiller update. I was reviewing the latest housing data at Calculated Risk and had a mental flashback to August 2009, when I originally posted this hilarious SNL skit, Don't buy stuff you cannot afford.

I speculated at the time that the skit iself was the true cause of the housing collapse. Why? A bit of research on the tv.com website turned up the date of the original skit airing: February 4th 2006. With this in mind, let's have a look at Calculated Risk's latest S&P Case-Shiller Index chart, to which I've highlighted the SNL date.

The SNL Case-Shiller Indicator

So now we understand what REALLY caused the collapse of the housing market. Everyone watched this SNL episode stopped buying houses they couldn't afford.

Note: My friend Paul Hanly in Australia alerted me that the video above may not play outside the US. Here's an alternate link to the SNL skit that works Down Under.

Paul — Thanks! and Happy Australia Day!