Does it concern you that the Chairman of the Federal Reserve, Ben Bernanke, didn't think the housing boom would go bust?

I still can't believe this testimony from 2005, when then-candidate Bernanke had these words of wisdom for the monkeys in Congress who voted for him:

"House prices have risen by nearly 25 percent over the past two years. Although speculative activity has increased in some areas, at a national level these price increases largely reflect strong economic fundamentals, including robust growth in jobs and incomes, low mortgage rates, steady rates of household formation, and factors that limit the expansion of housing supply in some areas."

Man, you'd have thunk a trained economist would have seen this one a mile away. The fraud, the CDO's, the SIV's, the corruption, the rampant speculation, the inventory, the corrupted commission-fueled REIC, the bought-and-paid-for Congress, and most importantly, the absolute lack of oversight or regulation by the Fed itself.

Maybe he didn't want to rain on Greenspan's Medal of Freedom parade. Maybe he was telling the monkeys in Congress what they wanted to hear, versus the truth. And maybe we should send him a copy of "Manias, Panics and Crashes".

I bet he sees the housing bubble now, and what really caused it (hint - it wasn't strong economic fundamentals). And I bet he wishes he never took the job.

HousingPANIC Homework: Email Miami, Phoenix, Vegas and San Diego realtors, ask them if now is a good time to buy an investment condo, and report back

Here's local market conditions (alternate reality version), courtesy of RealtyTimes.com

Miami

Phoenix

Vegas

San Diego

Today's project is to email two random realtors in these housing crash hotspots, letting them know you're out of state and thinking of buying investment property, and asking them if now is a good time to buy.

Then report back here. NO NAMES ALLOWED - no need to kick the little guys when they're down. Just report the city and what they have to say.

When picking your two to email, I'd recommend the ones with the most hilariously head-in-the-sand write-ups on RealtyTimes, like "Now is a good time to buy!" and "there are signs the market is leveling off" and this gem: "Finally a normal market. Don't believe all of the gloom and doom you here in the media about the housing market." (actual realtor quotes from Phoenix)

Enjoy!

Extra credit - try any of the other risky and overpriced cities like Orlando, San Francisco, Chicago, Cincy, KC, Naples, DC, Honolulu, NYC, Boston, San Jose, LA and Sacramento

I do love RealtyTimes - it's like reading notes from the Flat Earth Society or White House PR. Always a hoot