7/20/2008 How Do I Listen? Archived programs are streamed in the Real Audio Format. Click here to download   Problems Listening? Try this Direct Listen Link if the "Listen to Show" button to the right does not work   Hosted by: Dick Gordon Show Originally Aired: 5/25/2005 CALL 1 800-423-TALK Real Estate Reality Check (AP) Email to friend For many Americans a house has become more than a home. It's become a personal ATM, a source of easy money. The latest housing sales numbers show the country is still in the grips of feverish real estate boom that's driven the average price of a single family home up 50 percent. That means home equity loans and refinancing have become the new way to pay for vacations or college. This frenzy has some economists warning that what goes up must come down. And if it does drop -- it's going to come down on top of a lot of people who are stretched far beyond their means. And since real estate helps the overall economy by giving consumers more money to spend...a market crash could hit home for all of us. Related Shows Help Wanted On Point (10/03/2003) Recession Talk The Connection (10/01/2001) The Impact of the Interest Rate Here And Now (06/30/2004) Raising the Roof on Home Prices The Connection (06/05/2002) Employers Not Hiring On Point (03/05/2004) Joblessness in America Here And Now (04/18/2003) Susan Wachter, professor of financial management and real estate finance and city and regional planning at the University of Pennsylvania' s Wharton School Chris Mayer, Director of the Milsteain Center for Real Estate at Columbia Business School Gabriela Kotliar, Boston-area home owner.

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