"In the short run, desirable land gets constrained when you're in an up cycle, " says Michael Feroli, an economist with J.

WSJ: Home Builders Need More Land | The Outlook

And, as Michael Feroli of JPMorgan points out, the affordability gauge depends on what measure of home prices you look at.

ECONOMIST: The house-price bust has a long way to go

If the plan fails to pass, the Fed could conceivably create one itself for mortgage assets, argues Michael Feroli, economist at JPMorgan Chase.

ECONOMIST: The Federal Reserve

As for the timing, Michael Feroli of JPMorgan Chase notes that the September data were gathered in the week beginning September 7th, in the days before Lehman failed.

ECONOMIST: Unemployment in America

"Liquidity is good, but that was more of the August story, " says Michael Feroli, an economist at JPMorgan Chase (nyse: JPM - news - people ).

FORBES: The Fed's Fix

Even so, Michael Feroli, an economist at JPMorgan Chase, says that Okun's Law would have predicted an unemployment rate of just 8.6% during the second quarter, whereas it actually averaged 9.3%.

ECONOMIST: Signs of economic cheer