This could lead to misleading evaluation of national and local suicide prevention strategies and a masking of the effects of economic difficulties on suicide rates, they suggest.

BBC: Official data 'masking suicides'

That may not be the worst thing, given the excesses that led the the bubble bursting five and a half years ago, but Alpert thinks one of the knock-on effects is housing demand from institutional investors masking the fact that shadow inventory is still a significant overhang on the market.

FORBES: Fannie Mae Rides The Wave Of U.S. Housing, Books Record Profit