I particularly like the following article, it seems to make a lot of sense. MK

With all due respect to Ethel Merman, everything really is coming up roses...well, sort of. Sure, some weeds remain, but they are becoming fewer and farther between.
Of course we are talking about the housing market, where prices posted their first monthly gain in three years, climbing 0.5% in May according to the Case-Shiller Price Index – a closely watched housing-price monitor. The price increase offers yet another sign that the formerly battered-and-bruised residential real estate market is stabilizing.
New home sales provided another sign of stabilization, jumping 11% in June to post the biggest monthly gain in eight years. Sales of single-family homes increased to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 384,000 units, a 2009 high, thanks to more buyers availing themselves of falling prices.
Speaking of falling prices, the median price for a new home fell to $206,200 in June compared to $219,000 in May; however, inventory levels are falling and prices are dropping much less quickly. Furthermore, the ratio of houses for sale to houses sold in June was 8.8, down from 10.2 in May. The aggregated data has convinced a few economists to say that they see new-home prices rising in the coming months.
Rising home prices aren't beyond the realm of possibility; the economy is performing much better than expected. Gross domestic product for the second quarter of 2009 contracted at a less-than-projected 1% annual rate. The consensus estimate was for a contraction of 1.6%. Consumer spending and unemployment remain overhangs, to be sure, but they could soon be corrected by recent increases in business earnings, which should eventually supply additional stimulus to the economy.
Continued affordability in the mortgage market should also help keep home prices stable, if not rising. Though not as low as they were a couple months ago, rates are still low by historical measures. Last week, Bankrate.com's national survey had the benchmark 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaging 5.56% and the 15-year fixed-rate mortgage averaging 4.88%. Of course, any individual rate is subject to duration, loan type, FICO score, income, assets, down payment and points paid. By JEFF DAVIS - Blue Water Mortgage August 3, 2009

Could They Have Avoided The Current Fiasco

It appears from the referenced article that a lot of what we are now facing in the real estate world might have been avoided if the government had listened to others that did not have a financial involvement in the mortgage industry. To see the article go to http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081201/ap_on_bi_ge/meltdown_ignored_warnings;_ylt=AjsSsuRu_qiBAwq_Cu0Rvres0NUE
It is always very discouraging when people make bad decisions who should have known better and get paid a lot of money to know better.

Hopefully, this will pass, we will learn from these mistakes and be better for it.