It's all over the business press today. The latest Case Schiller numbers are out and they show that the price of houses dropped a record 15.3% in the past year, bring value back to their 2004 levels. Here are some of the headlines:
- Four years of gains in home prices wiped out - Marketwatch
- Home Price Declines Hit Everywhere - WSJ
- US Home Prices Fall in April at Record Rate - LA Times
- Consumers Wary Over Economy Reports State - NY Times
An interesting article in the WSJ says that Rich Investors Dumped Real Estate in 2007.
"Surprisingly, the report says the real-estate decline was due to profit-taking, not lower values. 'In 2006, real estate experienced record returns across various categories. Many investors took profits from these increased valued and moved their money into other asset classes.'
In other words, it seems that the rich pulled out of the real-estate bubble earlier than most."
Interesting. So who were these rich? They certainly didn't work work for the major investment banks, except for maybe Goldman Sachs.
