Value of Wisconsin property drops for fifth consecutive year

The Milwaukee Journal reports:

The value of the state's property fell by 0.8%, or $3.6 billion, last year, continuing an unprecedented downward slide that has washed away tens of billions of dollars in Wisconsinites' net worth over the past five years.

The report to be released Thursday by the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance shows that the total value of the state's properties dropped to $467.5 billion from $471.1 billion last year, marking the first five-year period since World War II that property values have declined each year. The study draws on state figures from Jan. 1, so it doesn't reflect the recent uptick in housing sales and prices.

It shows that after years of increases, the value of Wisconsin's homes, businesses, farmland and forests peaked at $514.4 billion in 2008 and then has fallen every year since, dropping by $47 billion in all.

The great moments of the Federal Reserve system.