Historical Home price index

[T, V & Mr. B.]

Has anybody seen ?

It is pretty amazing that from the hieght in 1897, it took 86 years to get back up close to the same level of real home prices. That is a long time to wait for an investment to break even. and to see the drops after the rise really frightens me after looking at the last sky rocket since 1997. The longest run up has been this last one from 1997 to present, of 10 years. The longest prior to that was 8 years from 1932-1940.

What this looks like is that this sky rocket has lasted way too long and gone way too high. but I guess that is all what we are saying here. The million dollar question is whether the drop will be equitable to the rise. A very scary thought.

[Alan]

That graph makes me think of Al Gore's graph of CO2 levels from An Inconvenient Truth.

Maybe there is a link between housing prices and global warming.

[Matthew]

I have that index posted on the wall in my office at work.

[T, V & Mr. B.]

When I show it to people, they say "what does that mean? and who cares?" Well, I guess it means that history repeats itself and we are in the process of watching that happen now? I don't know how to answer that stupidity really. I guess if the chart went back 300 years, maybe, then maybe it might sink in.

[Lake Hills Renter]

It's on the wall in my office now as well.

[Alan]

Over the 400 years, prices bubbled and crashed over and over but over the long run barely beat inflation. The sad thing is that the trends would last decades. If you are lucky enough to be born duing a period of bust to boom you make a lot of money. If you are unlucky you lose it during the boom to bust transition.

[bobb0]