IN REAGAN/VOLCKER AMERICA, RECESSIONS JUST AREN'T WHAT THEY USED TO BE:

U.S.: Is The Housing Recession Starting To Recede?: The drag on economic growth is easing, and home demand is firming up (James C. Cooper, 6/11/07, Business Week)

It's still way too early to celebrate, but more and more signs suggest the housing recession is starting to ease its grip on the economy. That doesn't mean the slump will be quick to disappear, but beginning this quarter it looks as if housing's subtraction from overall economic growth will be considerably smaller than it has been, perhaps the smallest since the downturn began a year ago. [...]

The Standard & Poor's (MHP )/Case-Shiller index for March shows house prices falling 1.4% from a year ago, with prices down in 13 of the 20 cities the index tracks. Economists like this index because it represents a constant mix of repeat sales of the same homes, and it attempts to control for quality improvements. Still, consider that prices are up 29.2% over the past three years and 64.3% over the past five years.

We've been reduced to pretend recessions.

Posted by Orrin Judd at June 10, 2007 8:36 AM