Forbes picks "Top 10 Riskiest Housing Markets". They almost got it right.

Here's their Top 10:

1) Miami
2) Orlando
3) Sacramento
4) San Fran
5) San Diego
6) Phoenix
7) KC
8) Cincy
9) Chicago
10) Denver

Here's HP's:

1) Miami
2) Phoenix
3) Las Vegas
4) Tampa
5) San Diego
6) Tucson
7) Boston
8) DC
9) Detroit
10) Naples

What are yours?

Riskiest U.S. Housing Markets

Those looking to spin the real estate roulette wheel might want to steer clear of Miami. It ranks first on our list of the nation's riskiest real estate markets.

There, a high share of adjustable-rate mortgages, high vacancy rates and slumping prices still too elevated for the local populous means should long-term bond yields climb, interest rates jump or the housing crisis linger much longer, things could go from bad to worse.

Our ranking of the country's riskiest markets measures which of the 40 largest metros are most vulnerable to future shocks. We've done this by assessing which have the most strained lending conditions, and which markets are the most overvalued and likely to face downward price pressures.

This garage, errr, house, is an actual new home for sale in Phoenix - home of the housing crash and butt-ugly overpriced new houses nobody wants

At what point did Americans, and especially Phoenicians, decide that ugly houses, soulless cookie-cutter neighborhoods and unplanned urban sprawl were good things?

Bleeeccckkkk.

How sad.

How long until they tear down these things down?

You wonder why these things aren't selling anymore - at any price.

When we look back at the housing crash years from now, it'll be the unlicensed mortgage officers most to blame

Realtors are licensed

Appraisers are licensed

Homebuilders are licensed

Banks are licensed

People who drive cars are licensed

Fishermen are licensed

Strippers (in AZ) are licensed (so I hear)

Yet the one group who had the most to do with the housing bubble, "mortgage officers", have no regulations, no licenses, no rules, no oversight, no nothing. Just get the sale at any cost, make the commission, screw the buyer, and move on.

And look where that got us to today.

The system got gamed. An unregulated rouge collection of con men, swindlers, call center jockeys, bartenders, strippers, used car salesmen and generally the scum of society banded together under the seemingly professional title of "mortgage broker" and "mortgage officer" these past few years and screwed America.

And nobody in government thought it would be a good idea to step in.

Hmmm... maybe because the National Association of Mortgage Brokers, the National Association of Realtors and the National Association of Homebuilders, who wanted to maintain the status quo, have your corrupted leaders in their pockets?

Here's a report from the cesspool of mortgage fraud and fraudsters, Phoenix Arizona:

Rules sought on mortgage officers
Bill to require licensing would help curb fraud, backers say

Many of the people in Arizona who help home buyers finance what is often the biggest purchase of their lives are not licensed. In the rapidly growing mortgage industry, many of these unlicensed people who handle home loans can put consumers at risk.

It's estimated that there are as many as 18,000 unlicensed people taking mortgage applications, negotiating rates and getting loan commissions statewide. Many are enticed by the Valley's housing boom, exotic and often risky mortgages and no licensing requirements.

"I know of mortgage people working out of their bedrooms and selling stereos on the side. They got into the business six months ago and don't know a lot about it. They can give the industry a bad name," said Rick Allen, a branch manager with the Valley mortgage firm O'Dowd and Associates.

HousingPANIC Stupid Question of the Day

What will America do with all its unwanted and unneeded houses and condos now?

Empty houses and condos at record levels

The number that got all the attention this week was 2.7 percent. That's the percentage of homes that are sitting empty across the United States. And it's certainly noteworthy, because in the four decades since the Census Bureau began tracking that number, it's never gone higher than 2 percent.

Put another way, there are 2.1 million empty homes out there, and the people who own them are taking a vicious beating.

But the really nasty number almost got lost in the shuffle. It's 11 percent. That's the number of buildings with five or more units (read: condominiums) that were unoccupied during the fourth quarter.

These and other numbers are being bandied about this week at the National Association of Home Builders' International Business Show. If you recall, this is the same show at which economists last year announced what developers were already figuring out - that the speculators feeding the condo boom had packed up and gone home.