The Next Great Bubble Boom

Over the Thanksgiving holiday I read Harry S. Dent, Jr.’s new book, The Next Great Bubble Boom, which carries on from his previous themes in prior books like The Roaring 2000s. Dent utilizes demographics and lagging birthrates to show how they change our economy over time

Some of his observations about what I call the agurbs® and he calls the exurbs:

“This new economy will continue to enable a growing shift toward ‘exurban living’ in high-quality smaller towns.”

“Continuing Megatrend: Consumers will continue to flee to the Exurbs. Lower-priced homes, less congestion, and more recreation are the drawing cards.”

“This trend is a broad trend like the shift from cities to suburbs, starting in the early 1900s, but accelerating for many decades into the 1970s.”

“Now the Information Revolution—being accelerated by the Internet, home PCs and entertainment devices, cellular smart phones, and broadband (wired and wireless)—will allow more people to live, do business, and communicate from exurban areas.”

Dent’s research shows the exurbs growing to 50% of the US population by 2025. While, I find this figure a bit optimistic, I think that several of the points he makes in his book about why the exurbs will grow compelling.