Reply #6: No BS there...

The housing leverage is not only in a bigger montly payment (California case), which the banks are allowing, but in a higher loan to value ratio nationwide (the amount loaned vs. supposed price of house).

Washington Mutual apparently cut back giving loans for these type of stretched conditions, six months ago.

The math calculations show that the draw on consumer budgets since last year is only 200 odd dollars for gasoline, whereas the draw based on new home prices--assuming a "normal" loan--is one thousand dollars.

So if you now figure that some people are taking out abnormal loans, such as 50 percent of income house payments, on top of things like ARMS AND on top of house prices, you can understand how retail is slowing down because people are so convinced that houses are an investment that will go up. Their money is all eaten up with house payments!

And unlike England, the US won't admit the problem, even though England has a smaller problem...

So no "BS" on that website. Go ahead, do the research on your own. Use the website for reference.

The sad part is the only way to slow it down is to raise interest rates, in hopes that housing will not become a bigger draw on more people in more states. But even there I wonder. The whole east and west coasts are beyond rescue.

Sadder still is the company which sits on the mortgage bubble is only now being subpeonaed, even though problems have been known about for years.