[Copernicus]

"I'm far from being an expert, but I am a fairly busy home builder. Luckily my market never saw a big jump in house prices so sales have remained stable."

thats a major point that most people miss reading the headlines. Prices are not in free-fall. There are a few speculative markets (Miami, Vegas, Phoenix/Scottsdale) that are taking some pricing hits, but in general prices have not come down very much at all. That may change as inventory continues to grow, and some people have to get out, but it hasnt happened yet. In two very high priced areas...Metro NY and Southern California, most sellers arent moving on price, and are leasing if they have to move, waiting out what is probably a short term storm.

As a builder im sure you know that housing starts were up last month. What would be more intersting to know is the price ranges of those starts. If they are mostly for what will be conforming loans, it doesnt mean much. If its starts of 417k+ homes that is a very significant and positive indicator.