But if house prices fall, they will be unable to cut interest rates to cushion their economies.
Mikelsone says she's seeing house prices fall by about 3% each month and apartment prices by 5% a month.
So if house prices fall below the value of the mortgage, a householder can walk away from his debt.
But let's say you visit an open house, fall in love, and in your excitement, forget to write your agent's name on the guest sheet.
Under the tests' most severe scenario, unemployment peaks at 12.1%, share prices drop more than 50%, house prices fall more than 20%, and the largest trading firms suffer a sharp market shock.
What the Bank of England is and should be watching, however, is not the level of house-prices but the level of borrowing: a substantial fall in house-prices now will be far better than an escalation of debt to levels that would result in a prolonged deflationary slump such as that experienced by Japan and other Asian countries.
Wall Street's gloomiest seers think average house prices could fall by 10% this year.
So speaking personally, from a purely selfish perspective, I want house prices to fall.
Yet securitisation has made it harder to reschedule loans and nobody knows how far house prices will fall.
And judging by the price of futures contracts based on the Case-Shiller composite index, investors expect house prices to fall further.
This time, however, with inflation so low, house prices will fall more sharply in money terms than they did in the past.
The other piece of evidence for home ownership's benefits is that the house-price fall has so far spared most existing homeowners from absolute losses.
They know that the Republican Party could be slaughtered in House elections this fall because of the rising opposition to our involvement in Iraq.
This is why, although most people expect house prices to fall only moderately, there is still a substantial risk of a more severe downturn.
He said Mr Stonestreet was doing the work because he was worried that the shed - made before the family moved into the house - would fall down.
BBC: Father of wall collapse girl feels 'heart's ripped out'
Now he thinks that house prices will fall over the coming year in at least five big American cities: San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles, San Diego and Nashville.
They maintain the centre was never built to be a school, and if the scheme is approved it would lead to anti-social behaviour and cause house prices to fall.
The issues for many considering taking a home loan are whether they will still have a job in a few months time and if house prices might fall further, making a loan cheaper, he adds.
Many readers reject our gloomy warnings about a more widespread fall in house prices.
ECONOMIST: The higher they climb, the further they will fall
And lenders have as much to lose as individual homeowners from a sharp fall in house prices.
The 25% fall in house prices we foresee will wipe out home equity, and then some, for many.
House prices continue to fall precipitously: American homes remain overvalued compared with rents and household income, perhaps by 10%.
There has been an ongoing debate between experts over the steepness and speed of any forthcoming fall in house prices.
Confidence among surveyors grew, despite a net balance of 19% more respondents reporting a fall in house prices in December.
In a period of deflation, incomes would be likely to fall, and a fall in house prices would then surely follow.
ECONOMIST: The deadly cocktail of high borrowing and falling prices
Consumers are dangerously exposed to a big fall in house prices because of their reckless borrowing over the past few years.
ECONOMIST: Australia's election: A prime minister with nine lives | The
If house prices continue to fall, this will undoubtedly knock economic growth.
The second was that household spending might fall more sharply if there was an adverse shock such as an unanticipated fall in house prices.
Of the 20 cities tracked by the Case-Shiller index, only New York saw a moderate fall in house prices since a year earlier, down 1.2%.
Hastert's allies say that is unfair, that it was Hastert's reputation and demeanor that rescued House Republicans following the fall of Newt Gingrich after the disappointing 1998 midterms.
应用推荐