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Economy
'Double-Dip' in Housing Prices Even Worse Than Expected
2011-05-31
U.S. single-family home prices dropped in March, dipping below their 2009 low, as the housing market remained bogged down by inventory and weak demand, a closely watched survey said Tuesday.

The S&P/Case Shiller composite index of 20 metropolitan areas declined 0.2 percent in March from February on a seasonally adjusted basis, in line with economists' expectations.

The price index was below the low seen in April 2009 during the financial crisis. The glut of houses for sale, foreclosures, tight credit and weak demand have kept the housing market on the ropes even as other areas of the economy start to recover.
They keep repeating that last part, hoping it will fool people to believe it is true.

Unexpectedly, the story didn't use the word unexpectedly. I think the MSM is onto us.
Posted by:DarthVader

#11  Not everyone had a second or third mortgage. Some folks got divorced and ended up with a house they otherwise couldn't afford on a single salary but couldn't sell. A lot of people got screwed by this deflation and the cavalier attitude comes off as cold and ignorant.
Posted by: rjschwarz   2011-05-31 22:20  

#10  let the prices keep falling so we do have affordable a housing again....and boo hoo on those that took out second and third's to cover their toy's and vacations...the bubble was obvious ten years ago yet people keep on the binge...
Posted by: dan   2011-05-31 21:58  

#9  How is that Phil_B?
I love the idea of homes becoming more affordable, but the rich arent losing their primary residences to banks owned by...the rich.
Posted by: bigjim-CA   2011-05-31 21:07  

#8  Asset deflation is a good thing.

Not least because it transfers wealth from the unproductive rich to productive workers.
Posted by: phil_b   2011-05-31 19:17  

#7  Exactly. This is the RECOVERY. House prices were far too high. The crazy thing is that people thought house inflation was a good thing!

Instapundit had this thing about saying the government tried to copy the status of middle class success with out understanding its causes... Higher House prices are a ONLY symptom of increasing middle class productivity/wages...

High house prices without any productivity increase is just inflation and a credit bubble trying to hide the damage done to the economy by taxation (including the ludicrously wrongly named "fair" tax).
Posted by: Bright Pebbles   2011-05-31 18:47  

#6  The press, as expected, demonstrates that is it in the tank for Obama.

This is what people call a buying opportunity if you are in the market and have credit.
Posted by: The Other Beldar   2011-05-31 18:39  

#5  For years and years and years they kept telling us that we need "affordable housing". But now when it really is starting to get a little more affordable they're squealing like stuck pigs. Odd.
Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305   2011-05-31 18:07  

#4  The most-listened to DC-area radio on the way home tonight said prices were back down to 2002 levels.

Grim.
Posted by: Bobby   2011-05-31 18:03  

#3  Ah yes, unexpectedly

1. A term used by Donk shills to cover repeatedly for failure of their chosen one.
2. An indication that writers live in a very small cluster of contacts without any concept of the outside world.
3. Total ignorance on the subject matter.

Nothing precludes any combination of the above.
Posted by: Procopius2k   2011-05-31 16:42  

#2  Heh. The Washington Examiner has picked up on the Unexpectedly meme.
Posted by: DarthVader   2011-05-31 14:10  

#1  I guess AP didn't get the memo.

Consumer confidence falls unexpectedly in May
Posted by: DarthVader   2011-05-31 12:13  

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