Home Prices Continued Their Decline in February
Phoenix has achieved the unwelcome distinction of becoming the first major American city where home prices have fallen in half since the market peaked in the middle of the decade, according to data released Tuesday.
Though historical statistics are scant, experts said the precipitous decline probably had few if any equals in modern times.
“Even during the Depression, I’m not sure prices fell this quickly,” said Karl Guntermann, a professor of real estate at Arizona State University.
Greg Swann, a Phoenix real estate agent, took a moment to marvel at the news. “What happened here will some day be a new chapter in ‘Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds,’ ” the classic survey of investing mania, he said. “We were living during the boom like there was no tomorrow. And guess what? Now it’s tomorrow.”