[quote=CA renter]Agree with Jazzman, but think the investor-speculators have had a HUGE impact all across the country. When the Fed stomps on interest rates they way they have over the past 5+ (!!!) years, money will end up being squeezed into everything else. Since housing was seen as distressed, that’s where the speculative money went. It remains to be seen how and when (and if!) this unwinds.[/quote]
I think it will depend on how important the housing market is to a recovery. Can it create jobs, or will those jobs come from other industries? Maybe the jobs that were lost are permanently gone; either because the bubble created them, or they’re now in China. In respect of housing, any lift that was caused by speculative investing can’t, by its nature, be permanent. I suspect prices will soon fall in places where they have risen too sharply.