The sharp fall in house prices in the first quarter provided further confirmation that this housing crash has been larger and faster than the one during the Great Depression. On the Case-Shiller index, the 1.9% q/q fall in the first quarter meant that since the start of 2006 house prices have fallen by 33%, eclipsing the 31% fall in the late 1920s and early 1930s. The only comfort is that the latest monthly data show that towards the end of the first quarter prices started to fall at a more modest rate. Nonetheless, prices are likely to fall by a further 3% this year, resulting in a 5% drop over the year as a whole.
Become a client to read more
This is premium content that requires an active Capital Economics subscription to view.
Already have an account?
You may already have access to this premium content as part of a paid subscription.
Sign in to read the content in full or get details of how you can access it
Register for free
Sign up for a free account to:
- Unlock additional content
- Register for Capital Economics events
- Receive email updates and economist-curated newsletters
- Request a free trial of our services