New, Predictably Grim Housing Data
Remember back in the early days of the Iraq War when President Bush repeated dumbly, month after month, "We're turning a corner," and things just got worse? That's basically the situation in our domestic housing market: a relentless onslaught of bad news, brief hope that things could not possibly get any worse, followed byunspeakably awfulnews.
Housing prices in 20 cities fell 19 percent between January 2008 and January of this year. And back in January '08, prices had already been falling steadily for a year. A Barclays economist predicts we won't see an actual bottom in home prices until the second half of 2010. So, basically, we will have suffered through 3.5 years of steady price declines before things stabilize, whee!
Where do things suck the most? Phoenix and Las Vegas, of course, where John McCain lives and gambles. John McCain killed your mortgage.