April 21, 2011
House prices have been declining at the rate of 1 percent a month for the last four months. This is why it was somewhat surprising to see Paul Dales, a senior economist at Capital Economics, quoted in the Post as saying that house prices would decline by about 5 percent this year. That would imply a sharp slowing in the rate of price decline in the months ahead.
The Post gained notoriety during the run-up of the housing bubble for relying on David Lereah, the chief economist for the National Association of Realtors, as its main and often exclusive source on the housing market. Mr. Lereah was also the author of the book, Why the Real Estate Boom Will Not Bust and How You Can Profit from It.
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