OK, I have to say something about economists in general. My frustration is that we do not have many correct forecasting economists. In fact, most economists pull from history to today with no regard for the future. They aren't paying attention to the land mines and pitfalls in the system. Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist for the National Association of Realtors released a PowerPoint in the Fall of '07 entitled
"After the Storm" (August 2007). You have to check it out. His projection for this year's national real estate market was a 2% increase. The Case Shiller composite of the 20 top states found here lost 2.2% between February and March alone. With all of the data this guy has access to he could not see a housing crash. His presentation title even implies the storm is over. This guy was just rated one of the best economists in America. What is the criteria for that????? Check out the PowerPoint here and be careful who you are listening to!