Although I prefer the S&P/Case-Shiller House Price Index to look at U.S. house prices (see residential property posts), the OFHEO index has more data, going back to 1975 (instead of 1987 as the 10-city Case-Shiller does). Ultimately, they both tell the same story: accelerating declines in house prices in the US. From a real (inflation-adjusted) perspective, housing price losses in this recession haven’t even equaled the losses in the double dip recessions of 1980-1982 or in the recession of 1990-1991. This does suggest we have a long way to go before we hit bottom as the house price increase has been much greater.
