Worldwide Housing Declines: U.S. Halfway Down the List

Some data sure to win you bar bets in this chart of first-half 2008 housing price declines. Who, for example, would have guessed that the U.S. was mid-pack, with Canada, among others seeing larger annualized tumbles in 2008?

Comments

[Moon Kil Woong]

I think Korea should be doen like 25% taking into account their 30% currency decline vs. the dollar and Euro.

2008 Oct 21 02:53 AM

[Kilgore]

Well constructe,

using your logic, maybe we should say that US housing prices never budged from 2000-2006 because in Euro terms and gold terms, prices stayed flat.

2008 Oct 21 08:02 AM

[electric car]

Could be the changing demographics. All Western economies and Japan have an aging workforce. This is a structural issue with long term ramifications.

2008 Oct 21 10:18 AM

[David Martin]

Anyone else spot 'the dog that did not bark?'
Germany is nowhere on the list - I suspect because prices have hardly moved.

2008 Oct 21 10:34 AM

[mortgage]

Interesting data, but what about that graph overlay going back to 2005?

2008 Oct 21 03:36 PM

[Urbane Gorilla!]

Thanks for the blog and chart. "I read International Living" and have been aware of the drop in many foreign market's real estate. From our perspective, it has only been happening here And we have quite happily donned the sack-cloth and ashes and whipped ourselves for our stupidity and greed... It underscores my feeling that the US has been the scapegoat for the world's economic problems, which I feel is largely not deserved. It's pretty clear in the above chart that many other countries have been eagerly over-extending credit when they should not have.

jegan ;-)

GOP for Obama!

2008 Oct 21 03:44 PM

[TRUSSO]

I dont see Central America on chart.

Thomas
realtyexecutivescentra...

2008 Oct 22 04:26 PM