I need to estimate the market value in the year 1971 of a home in
Egremont, MA that was purchased used for $17,000 in 1956. This is for
tax purposes. Although I would prefer localized data, I can accept a
table of average home prices for these years for the USA as a whole. A
consumer price index table specifically for home prices for those
years would also be acceptable, but not the overall CPI; I have that,
and it is too general.

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Request for Question Clarification by googlenut-ga on 12 Apr 2003 14:25 PDT

Hello again spotsworth-ga,

I still haven’t had any luck on the localized data.  This question has
been open for all of the other researchers to work on.  It seems that
no one else has had any luck either.

I have found a document that includes a graph of the annual growth
(percent) of U.S. home prices from 1950 to present.  Would this be an
acceptable answer?

Googlenut

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Clarification of Question by spotsworth-ga on 13 Apr 2003 05:34 PDT

Thank you for continuing to work on this, Googlenut. The graph you
have found is indeed an acceptable answer, provided, of course, that
it is a true data graph with natural unevenness to it, and not just
the upwards whoosh of an artist's conception connecting the start and
end points.

Hello spotsworth-ga,

The graph I referred to is in a document which can be found at the
website of the Washington Society of Investment Analysts (WSIA).  It
was written by Frank E. Nothaft, Chief Economist at Freddie Mac.

Housing & Mortgage Market Outlook
Frank E. Nothaft, Chief Economist, Freddie Mac
Washington Society of Investment Analysts, McLean, VA, October 22,
2002
http://www.wsia.org/Frank_Nothaft-Housing_and_Mortgage_Market_Outlook.pdf

On page 16 is a graph titled “U.S. Home Prices Have Grown Every Year
Since 1950”.  This is a graph of the percent annual growth of home
prices in the U.S. from 1950 to present.  It does indeed have the
“natural unevenness” that you described.

More information about Frank E. Nothaft can be found at the Freddie
Mac website:
http://www.freddiemac.com/bios/exec/nothaft.htm


In case you might find it useful, I’ll include some of the data I
referred to in my request for clarification on your previous question.

U.S. Housing Market Conditions, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban
Development, Office of Policy Development and Research, November 2000
Table 8. New Single-Family Home Prices: 1963-Present
http://www.huduser.org/periodicals/ushmc/fall00/histdat2.html#tbl4_08

U.S. Housing Market Conditions, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban
Development, Office of Policy Development and Research, November 2000
Table 9. Existing Single-Family Home Prices: 1968-Present
http://www.huduser.org/periodicals/ushmc/fall00/histdat2.html#tbl4_09

The REGIONAL PLAN for the BERKSHIRES
Table III.6. 1990 Housing Data - Unit Type & Value
http://www.berkshireplanning.org/download/Regional_plan.pdf

The Berkshire Regional Planning Commission 
Average Single Family Tax Bill, FY 2001
http://berkshireplanning.org/download/8_13_SFBILL_2001.pdf


I hope you have found this information helpful.  If you have any
questions, please request clarification prior to rating the answer.

I wish you the best of luck with your taxes.

Googlenut


Successful Google Search Terms:

Egremont, Massachusetts 1971 "home values"
://www.google.com/search?q=Egremont%2C+Massachusetts+1971+%22home+values%22&btnG=Google+Search&hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&safe=off

us home sales prices 1970 2000
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&safe=off&q=us+home+sales+prices+1970+2000&btnG=Google+Search

Massachusetts 1970 "home prices" OR "home values"
://www.google.com/search?q=Massachusetts+1970+%22home+prices%22+OR+%22home+va

"home value" massachusetts 1970
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&safe=off&q=%22home+value%22+massachusetts+1970

"home prices" 1956
://www.google.com/search?q=%22home+prices%22+1956&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&safe=off&start=20&sa=N

There were many other unsuccessful searches.

Thank you!
The data in the graph meets my minimum request and is authoritative. I
couldn't find it anywhere, and I know you must have dug into a lot of
publications. Some tax savings, but not a bonanza because of the low
inflation rate during those years.

Hello spotsworth-ga,

Thank you for the tip.

I'm glad the data was helpful.

Googlenut