You don’t have it in strong hands, you have flippers. These speculators are preventing the market from crashing now, and when they get out it could fall again.

—Robert Shiller

We’re creating a shadow inventory of homes that will be right back on the market as soon as the economy and the housing market begin to improve. We could see a double-dip in the housing recession if that happens. Assuming we don’t overshoot, we could be back at equilibrium in 12 to 18 months, but there are reasons to believe we might overshoot. In past housing recessions, we didn’t see as many mortgages under water, so it didn’t matter if the focus was on speed and not on maximizing value. Now, the same banks that created the problems by mismanaging their risk are mismanaging the disposal of their assets.

—Joseph Stiglitz