The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

Housing Market Plummets Unexpectedly?

Posted on | May 9, 2011 | 11 Comments

Is this the hope or the change?

Home values posted the largest decline in the first quarter since late 2008, prompting many economists to push back their estimates of when the housing market will hit a bottom.
Home values fell 3% in the first quarter from the previous quarter and 1.1% in March from the previous month, pushed down by an abundance of foreclosed homes on the market, according to data to be released Monday by real-estate website Zillow.com. Prices have now fallen for 57 consecutive months, according to Zillow.
Last year, the housing market showed signs of improving as price depreciation slowed in some markets and stabilized in others. In response, a number of economists began forecasting that housing would hit a bottom in late 2011, then begin to recover. But the improvements, spurred by federal programs that gave buyers up to $8,000 in tax credits, proved fleeting. Sales collapsed when the credits expired last summer, and prices in many markets have been falling ever since.

Meanwhile, with gasoline at $4 a gallon, Democrats think it’s a good time to raise taxes on oil companies.

Because that makes perfect sense, if you’re crazy.

UPDATE: Linked by Ed Driscoll at Instapundit — unexpectedly!

Category: Economics

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