And the factors that put us into the housing bubble have played out, but not the surplus, nor the disruptive foreclosures. Yes, some people bought more than they realistically could afford. Yes, some uprincipled mortgage brokers and appraisers and securitizers fueled the frenzy. Yes, some people went into it with not a housing mindset but a speculative one - we buy as much or more home than we can afford, take the equity boost as larger that way, and move on with a bigger nest egg. Not so, and the speculative part of things, the greed factor, makes it hard to feel sympathy for some now in distress. Of the industry kinds, the builder-developers, the land speculators, the mortgage broker bad apples, the false appraisers, there are many to point at and shame.
However, loan arrangements and credit and community banking have been an economic plus, when not extreme or predatory, and cautioning against throwing out the baby with the bathwater is an old saying with a basis.
Editorializing aside, the latest numbers are not encouraging, on housing; Reuters, this link.