Over the decade 1995 - 2004, the market value of residential real estate increased, on average, about 10% a year. (See: Federal Reserve Flow of Funds Table B100.) The same table shows that the replacement cost of America’s homes, rose, on average, only about 7.6% a year. If these estimates are reasonably correct, we can deduce that […]

In 1995, U.S. households held similar amounts of assets in home equity and corporate stocks: US$4.3 trillion in stocks and US$4.7 trillion in home equity. (See: Federal Reserve Flow of Funds Table B100.) Over the decade, the situation changed dramatically, so that by 2004, households held US$4.8 trillion more in home equity than in corporate stocks, […]

The sponsors of ‘defined benefits’ pension plans controlled, as of December 2004, about US$2.5 trillion in equities belonging, indirectly, to the beneficiaries of these plans. (See: “Who’s Holding America’s Stock Proxies?“) In December 2004, U.S. equities, even after the crash of 2000-2001, were still substantially over-valued. (See: “Equity Values“) In order for stock […]