Dean Baker Home Quotations

Hawaii's home prices suffered in the 1990s because of economic trouble in Japan, ... If home prices in California reverse, it will have ripple effects.

We're building at a 2 million-a-year pace, which is more than demand, and we're going to keep building at that pace until home prices correct, ... It's already showing up in the rental market, oversupply is pushing down rental prices.

There has never been a run up in home prices like this.

The optimistic scenario gives you about 2 million jobs next year -- about 180,000 a month. If I had to make my best bet, I'd say we'll have level home prices and growth of about 1.5 percent for the year. There'll be job creation of about 80,000 or 90,000 a month.

These monthly numbers are very erratic. It can be that this is a sign (of the bubble bursting), but I would never make too much of one month's number. Especially since the other timely data we get, the mortgage applications for home purchases, have still been pretty high.

Normally when you talk about housing bubbles bursting, you're talking about a specific local market. But we've never had a nationwide run-up in home prices like this. I don't think it's realistic to think the decline won't also be national. I think a 15 percent nationwide decline is very plausible. In many bubble areas, could be looking at 20-25, maybe 30 percent declines.

Home and rental prices will come back together by home prices falling. I don't think landlords will be in any position to raise rates too much.

Home prices are going through the roof, forcing people to turn to exotic loans and unorthodox financing. These people have no room for error.

If home prices level off, that can knock down growth by 1 or 2 percentage points, from 3.5 percent to 1.5 percent.