You need a strong job market with people in their 20s moving out of their parents' homes before rents recover.

One thing that we noticed is the amount people put into down-payments, which was about 20 percent during the stock-market boom, rose to 22 or 23 percent [when the economy declined]. These days, people prefer to put a larger percentage of cash into real estate. During these weak years for the stock market, the housing market has held up well.

Home-buying is not a snap decision -- people mentally prepare for it and search for homes, and this is a three-to-four-month process. Plus, even with the rise in mortgage rates, they're still below last year's figure and still close to 45-year lows.

The larger declines were recorded in the high-priced markets that are more sensitive to mortgage rate changes.

The strong rise in prices cut into affordability, even with the low rates.

The housing market just refuses to stop.