Loan Think

What We're Hearing

Published March 02, 2009, 7:00 a.m. EST

1 Min Read

How much in housing wealth (as in equity) has been wiped out over the past two years? One-trillion? Two-trillion? Hard to say but it's still probably less than the stock market losses facing those who went long. At press time the Dow Jones Industrial Average was nearing 6800 which means the market is down 50% from its peak of 14,000. At least an empty house can be rented out (okay, maybe not in all markets) but a $1 stock may never recover. Even the great Warren Buffett of Berkshire Hathaway is feeling his oats. The net worth of Berkshire's Class A and B stock lost $11.5 billion last year. In his new annual letter to shareholders Mr. Buffett -- who smartly dumped his holdings in Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Countrywide years ago -- offers investors a ray of hope: "Amid this bad news, however, never forget that our country has faced far worse travails in the past"â¦

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