A story published in this week's Businessweek shows how the housing market in Orange County of California went from boom to real estate crash.

Robert Shiller is a Professor of Economics at Yale University and one of the most respected experts in Real Estate. He predicted the burst of the internet bubble and have been predicting the burst of the housing bubble for the past two years.

In his remarks before the New York Society of Securities Analysts on housing, foreclosure and capital markets Secretary of Treasury Henry Paulson says 45000 homeowners seek foreclosure aid and that housing correction is expected in the real estate markets, slower growth is predicted.

Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton is expected on Monday to call for a 90-day moratorium on home foreclosures and a five-year freeze on the rates of adjustable rate mortgages, the Wall Street Journal reported in its online edition.

Home values nationwide declined for the fourth consecutive quarter, down 5.7 percent year-over-year — the largest year-over-year decline in more than a decade, according to Zillow’s Q3 2007 Home Value Report released last week.

Minority and housing activists in the United States say unethical lending practices and consequent foreclosures are hurting minority groups disproportionately.

Home builder confidence in the housing market is less than optimistic according to the Nov. market index, and the future looks no more promising.

AVERAGE House Prices are 8 times average salaries in Merseyside according to a new report by the National Housing Federation.

The Australian share market fell by its largest amount in two months amid renewed concerns about credit markets. A warning by equipment company Caterpillar that the housing slump in the US was starting to spread to other parts of the economy saw US shares fall at the end of the week.

Ben Bernanke, Federal Reserve Chairman, called the slumping housing market a "significant drag" on the economy. After that Wall Street sank for the second straight session.

A worsening housing slump and a credit crunch mean a period of slower activity of U.S. economy. If lucky, the economy will not be knocked over. But the country could be in for a bruising that will put the economy on weaker footing.

The Housing Industry Association says interest rate rises are impacting real estate sales in Victoria. Figures for August show sales of new homes and units fell more than 19 percent to a 10-month low.