[Video] Fact-check: huizenprijzen

Myth 1: In order for the economy to
recover, housing prices have to reach pre-recession levels. They
cannot decline further. Therefore the government must continue to
prop up housing prices or provide incentives to encourage people to
buy homes.

Fact 1: Pre-recession housing prices were a
historic anomaly based on easy credit caused in part by misguided
government policy. Lower housing prices are not bad for everyone.
They are also the only way to get rid of our bloated housing
inventory.

Myth 2: We need a foreclosure moratorium to
help those people drowning in debt who have had to default on their
mortgages.

Fact 2: Defaulting on a mortgage does not
necessarily reflect an inability to pay. The current crisis has
produced a new phenomenon: homeowners who default by choice. A
moratorium would eliminate the current penalty and thereby
encourage more people who are still able to pay to walk away from
their obligations.

Myth 3: There is a national foreclosure
crisis.

Fact 3: It is a national problem, not a
national crisis. It is a crisis in only a handful of
states.