I hope you're right. As long as home values don't drop -too- much below existing prices, damage would be minimized. Big second order effect of a potential hous

I hope you're right. As long as home values don't drop -too- much below existing prices, damage would be minimized. Big second order effect of a potential housing crash: There's a non-negligible part of the population that uses their homes as their own lines of credit. As their home increases in value, they occasionally will do a 'cash-out' refiance of their property. Or will open up a HELOC. If the market tanks, people who rely on this tactic will find themselves in a crunch quickly.