[Prince]

and taking out those hefty mortgages wasn't such a good idea, now, was it?

When does the bad news end?

Home Equity Falls Below 50 Percent--lowest on record

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'H')omeowners' percentage of equity slipped to a revised lower 49.6 percent in the second quarter of 2007, the central bank reported in its quarterly U.S. Flow of Funds Accounts, and declined further to 47.9 percent in the fourth quarter -- the third straight quarter it was under 50 percent. That marks the first time homeowners' debt on their houses exceeds their equity since the Fed started tracking the data in 1945.

[greenworm]

Yea, it's called pump and dump. Create a scenario where it is lucrative to borrow, say a failing economy due to 911, let us drop the rates to 'stimulate' the economy. Once that is achieved, you prop silly shows on tv telling you to 'flip this house'. Once that is achieved, you pull the rug from underneath, thereby, stealing the wealth of every american.

Makes you want to live in a wigwam, don't it?