As of this writing we are converging on the 6th year of this housing mess, and for almost 6 years we’ve heard people from the head of the Federal Reserve to real estate experts to Jim Cramer say we’ve reached the bottom of the housing market. For too long self-interested parties have made claims the worst may be over. They’ve all been wrong. It’s time to chronicle this journey. Starting with the end of January in 2012 and going back to 2006 I’ve compiled a list. Please note the listed sources aren’t always the ones making the claims, it’s just who published the claim.

Please enjoy the list:

• 1/31/2012 Homeownership rates fall to 66% as downturn nears a bottom – USA Today
• 1/10/2012 Has The Housing Market Hit Its Bottom? – Forbes
• 12/8/2011 Is the Housing Bottom Finally in Sight? – Kiplinger (my favorite!)
• 9/27/2011 This Has To Be The Housing Bottom – Seeking Alpha
• 6/21/2011 The Housing Bottom Is Here: Economist Russell Price Explains – Daily Finance
• 4/24/2011 We Could Be Near a Housing Bottom – Seeking Alpha
• 2/2/2011 Why the Housing Bottom Might Be Here – US News
• 1/28/2011 U.S. housing bottom seen in mid-2011: poll - Reuters
• 11/19/2010 Housing downturn has hit bottom – The Business Journal
• 10/25/2010 Rising Home Sales Point to a Housing Recovery – Daily Finance
• 10/8/2010 3 Signs the Mortgage Market Has Hit Bottom – Smart Money
• 5/12/2010 US Housing Prices Projected To Reach Bottom In Q3 2010 – NuWire Investor
• 4/27/2010 We Have Met the Housing Bottom, Maybe – The Atlantic
• 4/22/2010 More Signs of a Housing Bottom – Seeking Alpha
• 1/29/2010 In hard-hit markets, some see signs of bottom – MSNBC
• 2/12/2010 Builders: Housing bottom is here – SunSentinal
• 12/15/2009 Builders Say 2009 Marks Housing’s Bottom, 57% Predict Revenues Increase in 2010 (I checked, and a few did have revenue growth, most didn’t, and 2011 was worse) – World Property Channel
• 10/30/2009 Moody’s: No Housing Bottom Until Q3 2010 – Wealth Daily
• 8/21/2009 We Called It: The Housing Bottom – The Street
• 5/13/2009 Yet Another Greenspan Housing Bottom Call – Barry Ritholtz
• 2/9/2009 U.S. Housing Market May Bottom in 2009, Zandi Says – Bloomberg
• 10/27/2008 UCLA sees O.C. housing’s bottom by next summer – OC Register
• 8/27/2009 Cramer Calls the Housing Bottom (Q3 2009) – CNBC
• 8/17/2008 Greenspan sees housing bottom, criticizes bailout – Fosters
• 7/24/2008 The Media Are Missing the Housing Bottom – National Review (Larry Kudlow called this one)
• 2/21/2008 No housing bottom until ’10: CP Morgan – Reuters
• 1/15/2008 Mortgage bankers expect housing market to bottom out in third quarter – BizTimes
• 1/8/2008 Stable Existing-Home Sales Expected in Early 2008, then Gradual Rise – National Association of Realtors
• 12/19/2007 Is Collapse of Home Prices About To Hit the Bottom? – The Sun New York
• 12/1/2007 Will Home Prices Hit Bottom in 2008? Yes, but . . . – Kiplinger (again? of course!)
• 11/26/2007 Deere Sees a Housing Bottom in 2008 – Seeking Alpha
• 9/14/2007 Hovnanian Chief Says Housing Bottom Is `Very Near – Bloomberg
• 8/16/2007 Contradictory News Suggests Housing Bottom Could Be In View – Realty Times
• 5/25/2007 Housing Market Nears Bottom – Forbes
• 4/20/2007 Housing Bottom Callers – Calculated Risk (Hank Paulson here)
• 4/17/2007 IMF believes US housing market may bottom out – Reuters
• 2/17/2007 NAR Says Existing Home Sales Have Hit Bottom – Realty Times
• 2/8/2007 Housing still on down slope Economists say no recovery until midyear; prices face record fall – Market Watch
• 12/21/2006 Housing ‘close to bottom,’ realtor-group economist says – Market Watch
• 12/5/2006 Home builders see bottom of housing slump – CNN Money
• 11/15/2006 Housing slide may deepen; New forecast sees bottom in 2008 – Boston Globe
• 10/6/2006 Greenspan Says `Worst’ May Be Past in U.S. Housing – Bloomberg

When will we see the real bottom? It could be soon, one of the few people I trust to have an unbiased opinion (and someone who has attempted to track all the prior claims for a bottom) explains there are actually two housing bottoms to look for and they may be closer than you think. We’ll see if he’s right, or if he gets added to this list.

If you have more articles you want listed claiming a housing bottom, put them in the comments. While there are many stories that talk about the bottom, for the sake of this list just look for headlines.

Image: Nick Bastian Tempe, AZ

Be Sociable, Share!

• 

By The Weakonomist

The Weakonomist is the face of Weakonomics. Click the puppy to learn more about him. If you like what you're reading consider subscribing to the blog, following him on Twitter, and checking out the related posts above. Please consider a donation if you really enjoy Weakonomics. Also keep in mind that nothing we say can be construed as financial advice.

categories: business, economics, Housing, lists, loans