Quick Hit on Housing

Joel Achenbach tells the story of a Dale City townhouse, built in 1972, which soared in "value" to $250K, the owner refinanced through Countrywide, and now is in foreclosure, trying to sell for <$100K. Toward the end there's a mention of "thousands" of empty houses as an explanation of why it can't be rented. The surplus of houses means either builders overbuilt as part of the bubble and/or households evaporated as people moved back to their native country [my idee fixe]. Truth is, both probably happened, along with more people living with parents--fewer households being formed. Anyhow, Joel's piece is good, as most of his stuff is.