Friday, March 26, 2010

Housing Woes: Single-Family Home Prices

[Thanks to www.chartoftheday.com]

For some perspective into the all-important US real estate market, today's chart illustrates the US median price of a single-family home over the past 40 years. Not only did housing prices increase at a rapid rate from 1991 to 2005, the rate at which housing prices increased -- increased. That brings us to today's chart which illustrates how housing prices have dropped 35% from the 2005 peak. In fact, a home buyer who bought the median priced single-family home at the 1979 peak has actually seen that home lose value (4.3% loss). Not an impressive performance considering that over three decades have passed. It is worth noting that the median priced home has moved back to the top of a trading range that existed from the late 1970s into the mid-1990s.


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