US Q4 home prices drop; 1st consecutive drop since 1982

[UpInArms]

Source: Reuters

NEW YORK, March 4 (Reuters) - U.S. home prices dropped in the fourth quarter, marking the first consecutive quarters of decline since 1982, Freddie Mac said on Tuesday.

The second-largest U.S home funding company said its Conventional Mortgage Home Price Index, or CMHPI, Classic Series registered a 0.5 percent drop in home values during the fourth quarter of 2007 on an annualized basis.

That compared with a revised third-quarter 2007 annualized rate of a 1.5 percent decline, the McLean, Virginia-based company said.

<snip>

The last time a larger drop was recorded was during the third quarter of 1972, the company said.

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/bondsNews/idUSN0451461620080304

[bulloney]

1. And who was president in 1982?

Oh yeah, that darling icon of the conservatives...Mr. Ronald Reagan.

Of course, the Republicans will argue that it was all Jimmy Carter's fault.

I wonder if they blame the Great Depression on Woodrow Wilson, even though he was out of the White House for 9 years and 3 Republican administrations when the GD started.

[On the Road]

2. It WASN'T Reagan's Fault

It was clearly due to the high interest rates instituted under Volcker, Carter's Fed appointee. The prime rate reached 21% in 1980, and mortgages were even higher. Very high interest rates continued until the early-80s recovery.