By Far The Most Significant

A Decline In The National Housing Price Level Would Need To Be Substantial To Trigger A Significant Rise In Foreclosures, Because The Vast Majority Of Homeowners Have Built Up Substantial Equity In Their Homes Despite Large Mortgage-market Financed Withdrawals Of Home Equity In Recent Years.

The Only Sustainable Way To Increase Demand For Vacant Houses Is To Spur The Formation Of New Households. Admitting More Skilled Immigrants, Who Tend To Earn Enough To Buy Homes, Would Accomplish That While Paying Other Dividends To The U.s. Economy.

History Has Not Dealt Kindly With The Aftermath Of Protracted Periods Of Low Risk Premiums.

I Don't Think It's Possible For The Fed To End Its Easy-money Policies In A Trouble-free Manner. Recent Episodes In Which Fed Officials Hinted At A Shift Toward Higher Interest Rates Have Unleashed Significant Volatility In Markets, So There Is No Reason To Suspect That The Actual Process Of Boosting Rates Would Be Any Different. I Think That Real Pressure Is Going To Occur Not By The Initiation By The Federal Reserve, But By The Markets Themselves.

American Consumers Might Benefit If Lenders Provided Greater Mortgage Product Alternatives To The Traditional Fixed-rate Mortgage.