Housing has been the sector of the economy with the largest multiplier effect. Whether buying new homes or existing homes, people tend to fill them up with things: new furniture, new appliances, new window coverings.

—David Berson, former chief economist at Fannie Mae, current chief economist of PMI Group

I’m right in there with the rest of the cheerleaders, but there are no historical anecdotes, no historical data points to use for this

—Lewis Ranieri, the 62-year-old mortgage- bond pioneer who is chairman of New York-based Hyperion Partners LP.