We've never seen this size of a housing bubble before, so in a sense we're in kind of a strange place right now.

We live in a strange bubble.

There has been a housing boom, but it is not a bubble. It is more like a soufflé with the air slowly leaking out.

We as a nation are not as oil dependant as we were back then.

When consumers realize they can no longer expect that appreciation bonus to subsidize their consumption habits, they will very likely pull back on spending.

Building 200,000 new residences per year, not to mention the current interest in fixing up existing homes in order to spend new housing equity as fast as possible, will tend to drive this (employment).