The NYT article on the extraordinary decline in existing home sales reported for September discussed the potential impact of a sharp decline in house prices on the economy. It gave the range of estimates of the potential decline as $2 trillion to $4 trillion in lost housing wealth. It is worth noting that if house prices fell back to their long-term trend levels it would imply a loss of $8 trillion in housing wealth.
Most economists have been hugely overconfident about the state of the housing market and have underestimated its potential negative effects on the economy. It therefore would have been appropriate to include more pessimistic assessments in this piece.
There's too much at stake this November for us to quit. As we navigate another presidential election year, thoughtful independent journalism is more important than ever. We're committed to bringing you the latest news on what's really happening across the country this election season, shining a light on the stories corporate media overlooks and keeping the public informed about how power really works in America.
Quality reporting doesn't come for free, and we don't have corporate backers to rely on to fund our work. Everything we do is thanks to our incredible community of readers, who chip in a few dollars at a time to make what we do possible. This month, we're trying to raise $50,000 to help fuel our election coverage, and we've fallen behind on reaching our goal. Any amount you give today will bring us closer to making our reporting possible—and a generous donor has agreed to match all online donations, so your impact will be doubled.
