Sometimes I can’t prevent my inner politico from coming out.
At Trulia, I typically cope pretty well. I only occasionally sneak into dark conference rooms for quick cell gossip with other political dorks, steal a few minutes between meetings to check out politico, debate whether or not conservatives will fall in line behind McCain, or watch will.i.am’s Yes We Can video (again). I mean, I keep it to a single digit percentage of the day most days…except on Super Tuesday.
So as I refreshed CNN.com for the 179th time, guilty about my lack of productivity, I thought I’d try to merge my compulsion for politics with real estate. Now, I don’t think Brian Williams will be calling me for insight anytime soon… but it was fun to take a gander at the numbers.
I took a look at the # of foreclosures* in each Super Tuesday state, divided it by the population to find out how many foreclosures per 1,000 people in each state. Here are the 15 hardest hit states & the Dem/Rep winners.
My quick thoughts…for what they are (or are not) worth:
- Of the seven Super Tuesday states that were hardest hit by increasing foreclosures there was no clear winner from either party. That could mean that none of the candidates have convinced voters that they’ll stave off a foreclosure cluster-mess, or that the real estate market isn’t driving electoral decisions. I tend to think it’s the latter.
- Even on normalized basis, the Golden State has more than 10x the number of foreclosures versus Massachusetts. No analysis here, but ouch. Oh, and Hillary won MA even without Teddy’s help. Double ouch.
- Southern states went for the southern baptist minister, regardless of where they are on the foreclosure spectrum. From Georgia (1.6 foreclosures per 1,000 people) to West Virginia (0.007 foreclosures per 1,000 people)…seems that social conservatism may trump economic uncertainty.
On Meet the Press this weekend, James Carville said that the 2008 election would be about the economy stupid (again)! Based on Super Tuesday results, I’m not seeing it. That being said, foreclosures are only one piece of the pie and it’s a long road to November. Now back to work!!
*foreclosure data on Trulia, powered by RealtyTrac
Popularity: 5% [?]
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February 7th, 2008 at 5:54 am
I think people are just watching and cautious but by November election I think there vote will be for a change and hopefully then this economy situation can begin to correct itself.
February 7th, 2008 at 6:20 am
Wow. And I thought I was a data junkie geek. This is world class geekness. Impressive!
February 7th, 2008 at 1:05 pm
Jay - I’m gonna take that as a compliment!
February 7th, 2008 at 5:24 pm
Yup… Heather, I think you should try and get out a little more… !
I thought CNN (the best political news team on television…hmm) had already covered almost any angle you could think of but you’ve trumped them easily with this little gem!