Housing Prices Down 33% to Record Low

Foreclosures are at record highs

NYC, Jun 4, 2011. The latest S&P/Case-Shiller house price index reports that US housing price declines are now greater than those during the Great Depression.

There was a very brief recovery in prices in 2009 that was caused by the government's $8,000 first time buyer government incentive.

But sadly, this has now been entirely erased, and the average American home now costs 33 per cent less than it did in 2007, when the Democrats first took control of both houses of Congress.

The fall in house prices in the 1930s Depression was 31 per cent, and those prices took 19 more years to fully recover after the Depression.

According to recent economic indicators, the US economy is falling deeper and deeper into recession, with no apparent relief caused by President Barack Hussein Obama's, D-Kenya, lavish stimulus spending. Apparently, there really were no "shovel ready jobs" created.

The President cannot explain his failure to solve problems

President Obama made no specific mention of the disappointing jobs report this week, or the fact that the unemployment rate ticked upward.

The Chicago PMI manufacturing index showed a sharp slowdown in the pace of expansion in May, missing Wall Street forecasts and sending the index to its lowest since November 2009.

And in the latest Conference Board consumer confidence survey more people expressed uncertainty over their future economic prospects.


The confidence index fell unexpectedly to 60.8 from a revised 66.0, when economists had expected it to rise to 67.0.

Falling house prices and negative equity combined with high petrol and food prices and a still-weak jobs market to raise consumers' fears for the future.

Based on the weakness in housing prices, Chicago PMI and consumer confidence, it appears as though the economy could be headed for a double dip, especially as federal and state spending slows rapidly over the next six months

Economists warned not to expect any immediate relief to the gloom from the housing market. Banks continue to demand high deposits from potential buyers and are pressing on with foreclosures against those who have fallen behind on mortgages, adding to the glut of unsold homes on the market.

Unemployment rates continue to climb

Prices are back to their 2002 levels, according to the Case-Shiller National House Price Index out yesterday.

"The national index fell 4.2 per cent over the first quarter alone, and is down 5.1 per cent compared to its year-ago level," David Blitzer, the chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Indices, said.

"Home prices continue on their downward spiral with no relief in sight."