Tag: 1977

IT’S 1977 AGAIN

With the world ending this weekend, I thought it would be a good idea to look back in history. The year was 1977 and this is what was happening.

Sports

NBA: Portland Trail Blazers vs. Philadelphia 76ers Score: 4-2
NCAA Football: Notre Dame Record: 11-1-0
Heisman Trophy: Earl Campbell, Texas, RB points: 1,547
Stanley Cup: Montreal Canadiens vs. Boston Bruins Series: 4-0
Super Bowl XI: Oakland Raiders vs.Minnesota Vikings Score: 32-14
US Open Golf: Hubert Green Score: 278 Course: Southern Hills CC Location: Tulsa, OK
World Series: New York Yankeesvs. LA Dodgers Series: 4-2

Popular Songs

1.”You Don’t Have to Be a Star” … Marilyn McCoo
and Billy Davis Jr.
2.”You Make Me Feel Like Dancing” … Leo Sayer
3.”I Wish” … Stevie Wonder
4.”Car Wash” … Rose Royce
5.”Torn Between Two Lovers” … Mary MacGregor
6.”Blinded By the Light” … Manfred Mann’s Earth Band
7.”New Kid in Town” … Eagles
8.”Love Theme from ‘A Star is Born'” … Barbra Streisand
9.”Rich Girl” … Daryl Hall and John Oates
10.”Dancing Queen” … ABBA

Popular Movies

1. Star Wars
2. Rocky
3. Smokey and the Bandit
4. A Star Is Born
5. King Kong
6. The Deep
7. Silver Streak
8. The Enforcer
9. Close Encounters of the Third Kind
10. In Search of Noah’s Ark

Academy Awards

Best Picture: “Annie Hall”
Best Director: Woody Allen … “Annie Hall””
Best Actor: Richard Dreyfuss … “The Goodbye Girl”
Best Actress:Diane Keaton … “Annie Hall”

Grammy Awards

Record of the Year: “Hotel California” … The Eagles
Best Song: “You Light Up My Life” … Joe Brooks
Best Album: “Rumours” … Fleetwood Mac
Male Vocalist: James Taylor … “Handy Man
Female Vocalist: Barbra Streisand … “Love theme from ‘A Star Is Born’ (Evergreen)”

  • Most Popular Books

    Fiction:
    1. “The Silmarillion” by J.R.R. Tolkien
    2. “The Thorn Birds” by Colleen McCullough
    3. “Illusions” by Richard Bach
    4. “The Honourable Schoolboy” by John Le Carre
    5. “Oliver’s Story” by Erich Segal

    Nonfiction
    1. “Roots” by Alex Haley
    2. “Looking Out for #1” by Robert Ringer
    3. “All Things Wise and Wonderful” by James Herriot
    4. “Your Erroneous Zones” by Dr. Wayne Dyer
    5. “The Book of Lists” by David Wallechinsky

    Most Popular Television Shows

    1. Laverne & Shirley (ABC)
    2. Happy Days (ABC)
    3. Three’s Company (ABC)
    4. 60 Minutes (CBS)
    5. Charlie’s Angels (ABC)
    6. All in the Family (CBS)
    7. Little House on the Prairie (NBC)
    8. Alice (CBS)
    9. M*A*S*H (CBS)
    10. One Day at a Time (CBS)

    		•   

    What got me reminiscing about 1977 was the chart below. On an inflation adjusted basis, the median home price in the U.S. today is exactly the same as it was in 1977. OUCH!!!

    And that isn’t even the bad news. Home prices are falling rapidly and we should be back to 1972 in no time. Even a meathead could see it.

    The US real estate market continues to struggle. For some perspective, today’s top chart illustrates the US median price (adjusted for inflation) of a single-family home over the past 41 years while today’s bottom chart presents the annual percent change in home prices (also adjusted for inflation). Today’s chart illustrates that, prior to the financial crisis, the inflation-adjusted median home price rarely declined more than 5% in one year (gray shading). It is also very important to note that due to a large number of distressed properties, a high unemployment rate and stagnant wages, the inflation-adjusted median home price has declined 7.9% over the past year — an annual decline larger than any that occurred during the 35 years prior to the financial crisis.