Report: Bernanke's own home down 260K in value

[Kimosabi]

Say it isn't so: The Fed chairman, rapidly losing home equity in the housing bust?

Bloomberg News reports Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke's Capitol Hill home is slipping in value and may soon be worth less than he paid for it. An economist quoted by Bloomberg estimates Bernanke's house has lost $260,000 in value.

"Bernanke [pictured] lives in Washington's Capitol Hill area in a four- bedroom, 2,600-square-foot house he bought new in May 2004 for $839,000. Almost four years later, it may not be worth any more, according to real estate records and local agents.

More: "'Even though he's the Fed chairman, he's going to get hit -- but I think lot of people will in Washington,' said William Wheaton, an economist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The value of Bernanke's home 'probably went up to $1.1 million and it's probably back down to $840,000,' because prices in Washington just a couple years ago 'got out of control,' Wheaton said."

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/laland/2008/03/report-bernanke.html

It would be hilarious if Helicopter Ben has a sub-prime mortgage on the place which he defaults on...

 

[tech/a]

I have a suspicion that He'd own the home and I also have the suspicion that its not the only home he owns.

The jaws of economic demise will affect all.
Its how they are positioned which counts.

 

[YChromozome]

It would be hilarious if Helicopt...E] The Fed would just bail him out . . . .

 

[robots]

hello,

and so they should,

daily we hear of farmers, the motor industry, manufacturers getting bailed out

so it should be shared around

thankyou

robots

 

[gfresh]

I imagine he's on a considerably larger payroll than that house suggests. Sure that's not his garden shed?

The house over the road from me costs nearly 40% more than that, on an average street, and is a fraction of that size. And it's not owned by a Federal Reserve chairman.

 

[xoa]

You need to understand that $840k buys a very nice house/mansion in the USA, in a very nice neighborhood. It probably has every creature comfort he could desire. Their bubble was never as severe as the one we're facing.

 

[tech/a]

2,600-square-foot house

Is a very modest home.
Around 24 squares the average middle class home is around 20 squares in Australia.

 

[imaginator]

Good for him! Yet he still wanted to raise interest rate 2 months ago despite what the economy says, madman. He was more worried about inflation. Maybe the fed compensates him.

 

[wayneL]

2,600-square-foot house

Is a very modest home.
Around 24 squares

Eh?

<pedantic>1 square = 10feet x 10feet = 100 square feet.</pedantic>

...and mind you, 26 squares in some spots is not modest.

 

[xoa]

Is a very modest home.
Around 24 squares the average middle class home is around 20 squares in Australia.

Capitol Hill is America's epicentre of political power. His house is a short stroll from the White House, Congress, the Federal Reserve, more than a hundred embassies, the headquarters of numerous federal agencies. It's also one of the most architecturally important neighborhoods in North America, with most of the buildings dating back to at least the early Victorian era. Residents of Capitol Hill are among the most wealthy in the entire United States.

A 240sqm house in this neighborhood is far from "humble". By Australian bubble standards, the land alone would be worth a few million. $840k is a steal. You'd be lucky if the same money bought you a ramshackle cottage 10km away from the Perth/Sydney CBD.

 

[metric]

no doubt in his home, he has art of a greater value(260k), per piece.

 

[robots]

A 240sqm house in this neighborhood is far from "humble". By Australian bubble standards, the land alone would be worth a few million. $840k is a steal. You'd be lucky if the same money bought you a ramshackle cottage 10km away from the Perth/Sydney CBD.

hello,

thats because in USA, the greatest democracy in the world you have to carry a 9mm, grenade launcher, flick knife and a rambo bow and arrow set just to ride the subway

in aus, you have total utopia

thankyou

robots

 

[xoa]

[...] you have to carry a 9mm, grenade launcher, flick knife and a rambo bow and arrow set just to ride the subway

in aus, you have total utopia

thankyou

robots

Not a single homicide has been committed in Capitol Hill for more than two years.. not bad for a neighborhood of 35,000 people. So much for your "rambo" theory.

Statistically, you've probably got a higher chance of being mugged or murdered in Melbourne. Somehow, I don't think it's our crime-free "utopia" which is responsible for our property bubble.

The United States still has people clamouring to get a piece of the American dream, and their affordable housing bodes well for long term. Though no investment is without risk, it's easier for prices to grow from a low base, than from an already inflated bubble.

 

[robots]

hello,

oh gee, shot down in flames again

will keep plodding along

thankyou

robots

 

[Kimosabi]

hello,

thats because in USA, the greatest democracy in the world you have to carry a 9mm, grenade launcher, flick knife and a rambo bow and arrow set just to ride the subway

in aus, you have total utopia

thankyou

robots

Rumour has it, Melbourne has these badboys roaming the streets at night...

 

[xoa]

I remember watching on the news not long ago, a gang of Sudanese thugs beating a Chinese man to within an inch of his life on a Melbourne train. Completely unprovoked. "Utopia", indeed..

 

[Kimosabi]

I remember watching on the news not long ago, a gang of Sudanese thugs beating a Chinese man to within an inch of his life on a Melbourne train. Completely unprovoked. "Utopia", indeed..

From what I've heard, Melbourne is the Spruikopia capital of the world...