Sir Paul McCartney’s Penthouse and Price Deflation

Beatles’ fans are familiar with Paul McCartney’s song “She’s Leaving Home,” which is on the Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album.

Well, as Sir Paul was leaving home, at least one of them, he took a hefty loss (WSJ, Feb. 17):

Famed ex-Beatle Paul McCartney and his wife, Nancy Shevell, have sold their penthouse on New York’s Fifth Avenue for about $8.5 million, roughly 45% less than what they paid for it in 2015, according to a person familiar with the situation.

The famous couple bought the co-op apartment for $15.5 million.

As you no doubt know, housing market prices have sharply risen with record speed in recent years.

If the stock market continues to trend lower, expect even steeper price deflation in some locales, especially where housing prices have reached exceptionally high levels (think back to Las Vegas and parts of Florida during the prior housing bust).

You see, real estate prices and stock market prices tend to trend together.

Here’s a chart and commentary from Robert Prechter’s 2021 Last Chance to Conquer the Crash:

Real estate prices have always fallen hard when stock prices have fallen hard. The chart displays this reliable relationship.