One expert is convinced the bubble will deflate, but he’s not sure when

Will the real estate bubble burst? And, if so, when?

Those were the big questions at a UCLA Anderson School of Management conference on real estate and the California economy, held Thursday at the Skirball Cultural Center in West L.A.

The answers are not that simple, a bearish Christopher Thornberg, senior economist of the UCLA Anderson Forecast, told housing developers, lenders, academics and representatives of affordable housing programs.

Describing the economy as a “dead man walking,” he predicted a flattening of overheated housing prices or a slow decline when the bubble deflates, but he did not forecast when.

Economists define a bubble market as one driven not by fundamentals -- investing with the goal of putting a roof over one’s head, food on the table and gas in the car -- but a market that is fueled by speculative buyers who want to turn a quick profit. When the prices get too high and the demand for housing subsides, speculators dump their investments, more homes go on the market and prices return to more reasonable levels.