Where Housing Is Headed - WSJ Chart of 28 metro areas.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

Our house, (Portland Metro area), has lost about 25% ($100,000) in "value" since the bubble burst. Anybody wondering where the money went, there's the answer. All that money was on paper.

http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/st_Housing_20090127.html

[NMDemDist2]

1. It wasn't "on paper" for the gal that bought my house in PHX in 2006

according to your chart the PHX area is down 22%, her house has lost 32%

so she's making payments for $220K on a house that MAY BE worth $150K

here's the Zillow chart for that place in AZ

[tabatha]

2. Click on the "Price Change" heading,

and the column will be sorted.

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

3. I'd like to talk about the concept of "all that money was on paper"

a phrase that is often used. Sometimes money did only exist on paper and sometimes it existed and was lost for real.

If I bought my house for 200,000 and then during the bubble it's purported value blew up to 400,000, I have a 200,000 dollar gain that does exist only on paper IF I DO NOTHING WITH THAT ADDITIONAL EQUITY. If all I do is draw up little memos to myself that my house has 200,000 in equity, then fine and dandy. If the house deflates back down to the original 200K,all I had was an imaginary gain followed by an imaginary loss.

BUT, if I instead chose to say, hey, cool, let me take out 100K of equity to blow on beanie babies, and then the property deflates, I have a very real loss and not only does it exist on paper, but I am on the hook for it and have to pay that equity loan back. The imaginary equity became real equity. My imagined gain became a real loss.

That's why things are so screwed up. Many many people spent what turned out to be phantom equity that now they have to pay back with real dollars. They can't sell, they can't refinance, they are just screwed. So they can tough it out for the foreseeable future or they can decide to walk away and take the hit on their credit.

[Barack_America]

4. Philly is interesting. There are so many homes for sale, but they're holding their value so far...

I've been noticing listings for foreclosed homes here though, so I'll bet things are about to go downhill quickly.

:scared:

[SoCalDem]

5. Half of the "Top Ten" worsts are in CA

:(

[dixiegrrrrl]

6. Followed by Ariz and Nev. I bet

Remember that so many people were playing monopoly with real houses there.
I was following it daily for several years, and could not believe how soon a 900 square foot
1940 rambler with no yard became worth 900,000 in Daly city ( just So. of SF city line).

And people were lining up to buy it so they could sell it for even more.