However, partly owing to the feedback of price declines on lenders, mortgage conditions have tightened some since the late spring readings he is using for his conclusion, and in my view, the jury is still out on whether housing prices are close to finding a bottom.
The heavy involvement of financial intermediaries in amplifying the housing boom and the subsequent economic effects of the bust brings me to the Morris and Shin paper, which raises a host of important issues related to the systemic aspects of financial intermediation and the lessons from the recent turmoil.