I dont have time to respond to everything but wanted to throw this out as a counter to all the econ prof type’s who think things will play out according to their textbooks.

I have a $500K short sale listing in a central location that is nice but needs updating, nothing spectaular but a good basic house with a good location. In 1 week, I have 10 offers and have discouraged at least a dozen others from even bothering to make an offer. 3 of the offers are All Cash and the other 7 range from 20 to 50% down. I got 5 more calls today and have a few more potential offers coming. Sorry rational thinking piggies but there are lots of folks out there who dont think as you do. It is not a rational market place. it is an emotional marketplace where many people fell a need to own a home as part of their lives. Right or wrong it just is……..

So much for macroeconomic trends and other such nonsense;)