The US housing market continues to fold as reported by Bloomberg this morning. http://www.newsday.com/business/ny-bzfore5203745may08,0,4007906.story?coll=ny-business-print
Meanwhile in other parts of the world the bubble is still billowing, See London Housing Gap Sparks `Gazumping' Epidemic of Bidding Wars http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/newspid=email_en&refer=economy&sid=aqCYhxafUCWE
Sure we all had this coming. Cycles repeat over and over through human time and this time is perhaps no exception. But it is still hard to watch. Housing crashes hurt real people with real families who need a place to live. In this sense, bubbles in real estate are much more painful than bubbles in other assets. A housing bubble breaking is more broadly felt. Hitting us in hearth and home literally; these “corrections” have a negative and often lasting impact on family and emotional stability of the society as a whole.
Consumer protection laws will doubtless be increased in this area as the carnage falls out. Some of that is needed, sadly, at this point though most of it will be well-meaning and too little, too late.
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I would like to believe that the benefactors of aggressive lending practices (preditory) will feel the heat from the fallout of this bloody mess,
not so I fear, Goldman, Morgan, Lehman et al, will walk away with all the fees made and pleed ignorance. L.