The housing market has carried us for five years. As that carrying goes away, it will have an impact.

The U.S. has been shy to tell us how they will deal with subsidies. They have not told us exactly what they will be doing.

Think of a home as another consumer durable, like a refrigerator. When you need to buy a new fridge, you think about the service it'll give you, not whether the price is going to go up or down while you own it.

Prices aren't likely to go up from here.

The numbers indicate that demand for housing has pushed buyers out to the western counties where real estate is still affordable. The higher percentage increases in condo sales in those regions indicate that many first-time buyers are entering the market in those areas.

What's going on is portfolio adjustment.