More this and that from blogland:
Calculated Risk notices today's Wall Street Journal article by Greg Ip (page A1 in the print edition), that contains a new warning from Chairman Greenspan:
Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, drawing on new research he has personally supervised, said American consumers have become enormously dependent on borrowing against their homes to fuel their spending, and that a rise in mortgage rates could trigger a spending pullback.
Mark Thoma has the story too (and throws in Bernanke on the risks associated with energy price increases, optimism from Chicago Fed president Michael Moskow and Governor Susan Bies). The Housing Bubble 2 has even more.
For better or worse, The Skeptical Speculator reminds us that the "U.S. housing market remains strong."
Tax Policy Blog outlines the case against home mortgage interest deductions. The essence of the argument:
Simple: by giving a tax subsidy to housing, it distorts investment decisions toward houses and away from assets like factories and equipment that are more productive at the margin. And that makes workers less productive, ultimately lowering wages and making society poorer.
For those looking to the practical end of the whole housing price debate, Calculated Risk considers the rent versus buy decision at Angry Bear.