US housing quantities fell by 80% and home prices fell more than 25%, and prices were still falling at more than a 20% annualised rate in 2009.

Judge with US housing data as of early-to-mid 2009. The three components are: (1) housing quantities (starts or permits, or sales) fell about 80% from peak; (2) home prices fell more than 25% from peak; (3) prices were still falling at more than a 20% annualised rate. Use Census starts/permits and Case-Shiller indices. True if all three hold: starts fell about 75–85% from their 2006 peak, Case-Shiller (20-city or national) fell more than 25%, and a recent short-period annualised decline exceeded 20%. Mostly true if two hold exactly and the third is slightly off, for example a 24% price fall or a 17–19% annualised rate. Mixed if one of the three clearly fails. Mostly false if two clearly fail. False if all three are clearly wrong.

Set before the research began.

1. E1 Standard & Poor's - Pace of Home Price Declines Moderate in April RISMEDIA · 30 June 2009

   ““The pace of decline in residential real estate slowed in April,” says David M. Blitzer”

2. E2 Nation's home prices fall 18 percent East Bay Times · 27 January 2009

   “In fact, homes in the 20-city index have lost a quarter of their value since their peak in July 2006.”

3. E3 - THE STATE OF THE NATION'S HOUSING MARKET U.S. Government Publishing Office (Senate Hearing 111-473; prepared statement of David Crowe, National Association of Home Builders) · 20 October 2009

   “The decline was even more precipitous for single family housing starts, which fell by more than 80 percent, from a peak of 1.82 million at the start of 2006 down to 357,000 in the first 2 months of 2009.”

4. E4 - THE STATE OF THE NATION'S HOUSING MARKET U.S. Government Publishing Office (Senate Hearing 111-473; prepared statement of David Crowe, National Association of Home Builders) · 20 October 2009

   “Over the same period, total housing starts fell 79 percent, from 2.27 million (seasonally adjusted annual rate) to 488,000.”

5. E5 - THE STATE OF THE NATION'S HOUSING MARKET U.S. Government Publishing Office (Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs hearing, S. Hrg. 111-473) · 20 October 2009

   “Starts are down nearly 80 percent from their peak in January of 2006, from 2.3 million down to 488,000 on an annual basis.”

6. E6 - THE STATE OF THE NATION'S HOUSING MARKET U.S. Government Publishing Office (Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs hearing, S. Hrg. 111-473) · 20 October 2009

   “Nationally, home price indexes have been on the rise for the past several months, as reflected in 18 of the 20 metropolitan markets covered by the Case-Shiller Index.”

7. E7 - THE STATE OF THE NATION'S HOUSING MARKET U.S. Government Publishing Office (Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs hearing, S. Hrg. 111-473) · 20 October 2009

   “Over the same period, total housing starts fell 79 percent, from 2.27 million (seasonally adjusted annual rate) to 488,000.”

8. E8 - THE STATE OF THE NATION'S HOUSING MARKET U.S. Government Publishing Office (Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs hearing, S. Hrg. 111-473) · 20 October 2009

   “That last level is the first quarter of this year where the average price of houses was down 27 percent.”

9. E9 Home prices fall a record 19.1% in year; declines slowing ABC News · 26 May 2009

   “Home prices have fallen 32.2% since peaking in the second quarter of 2006 and are at levels not seen since the end of 2002.”

10. E10 Home Prices Fall, but is Stabilization Near? HousingWire · 28 April 2009

    “And despite the deceleration in home price declines seen in February, from the peak in mid 2006, home prices are still down over 30%.”

11. E11 Home prices fall a record 19.1% in year; declines slowing ABC News · 26 May 2009

    “Home prices fell at the sharpest rate ever in the first quarter compared to 2008, but the pace of month-to-month declines continues to slow, a closely watched housing index showed Tuesday.”

12. E12 newresconst.xls U.S. Census Bureau and HUD (New Residential Construction, March 2009) · 16 April 2009

    “the revised February estimate of 572,000 and is 48.4 percent (±5.9%) below the March 2008 rate of 988,000.”

The evidence supports a starts decline of about 79–80% from peak [E4, E5] and a price fall of more than 25% from peak [E8, E9, E10]. However, no item gives a recent short-period annualised price decline [E1, E11], so the third component cannot be judged, and the criteria do not settle whether the claim is true, mostly true or mixed.