this was also true when said of the deck of that cruise ship they were rearranging the deck chairs on

Hey, MrRational -- long time no hear!

What the WSJ didn't crunch, but what would be very useful to see, is current stress vs. past stress in individual regions. "Less stressed than average" isn't a ringing endorsement with all the housing-market problems out there these days.

Here is a video of WHY we have a housing mess. Then Secretary of HUD, the same man who now wants to be Gov of NY is partly responsible.
He was in 1998 demanding "AFFIRMATIVE ACTION" mortgages to those unlikely to pay the loans back. Well he got his way and now we are paying the piper.

http://www.eyeblast.tv/public/checker.aspx?v=e4SUkUSUQu

Health insurance coverage is completely irrelevant. The percent employed measure is almost as irrelevant given retirement incomes. 30% is more burdensome on lower incomes and in cheaper housing because of constant autonomous demand and varied disposable income (there's a certain amount of food, fuel, and necessities one will consume independent of their income. A guy who makes 10k/mo has an easier time affording a 4k/mo mortgage than a guy who makes 5k/mo and has a 2k/mo mortgage).

My stats in order of weighting:

1. Median price to median income
2. Median price to median rent
3. Percent still deviating over 70 year historical trend-line
4. Net immigration/emigration last 3 years
5. Net job creation or loss last 12 months

I am a real estate investor and the current "market" has not had any effect on my ability to purchase and sell property for profit. I used to think that the way to buy a home was to hire an agent, look at houses listed by other agents, make an offer then jump through hoops to get financing only after putting 20% down. If only I knew then what I know now.

There is a reason why Monets and Picassos are sold at auction, and it isnt because the owners want to "give them away". A real estate auction brings interested parties to the front steps and they compete with each other. It is how we sell ALL of our properties. They sell AS-IS with no contingencies and there is NO commission.

If your real estate agents idea of marketing your property is to keep dropping the price until finally getting a low offer that is based on them selling their home or worse, getting financing, you may end up waiting 9 months or more to finally move on and still only walk away with the same amount you would get from auctioning or selling to a private investor.

Something to consider.

They charge about $15,000 for information you could attain by reading a couple of free books at the library. On a per hour of instruction basis, they are more expensive than Harvard. John is their admissions director.

If you go to Maryland Case Search: http://casesearch.courts.state.md.us/inquiry/inquiry-index.jsp

and look up Charles Parrish, Ian Parrish, or do a company search for Investors United, you will see that the two principles have a laundry list of both suing and being sued, and the school itself has 6 pages of getting wage garnishments and sometimes even driving students into bankruptcy. This is because they sell the tuition on a monthly installment contract and then come after you if you default, even if you don't take the rest of the classes.

But the critical question: If these guys were so good at making money flipping and rehabing houses, why would they spend most of their time selling and providing education? Is it their benevolent good nature? Rationally thinking, profit seeking individuals will spend most of their time on what makes them the most money. These guys are info-marketers, and the very fact that they are spending their time pedaling info rather than investing in real estate shows how ineffective the information they are selling is.

One third of households in the Baltimore metro area pay rent rather than mortgage. So to design a housing stress test, you should also look at measures of housing affordability --- or lack thereof. See http://www.nlihc.org/oor/oor2010/area.cfm?state=MD

Generally, renters pay a higher percentage of income than homeowners, and renters are more likely to pay in excess of 30% of income than homeowners. For example, more than 60% of renters can't afford a two-bedroom market rate apartment without going over the 30% of income benchmark.