My mom's in real estate, she says three to five years. She says the way this stuff is going right now, you can expect prices to start plummeting within about six months, maybe even sooner.

But, so now, Paulson and the Feds are in there buying up "dubious mortgages", right? And they've got some plan in place, to refinance "individuals" through FHA. Which is definitely a good deal for homeowners, man, I'd jump on that one even I didn't need it, 'cause you can't beat those FHA interest rates anywhere - heck, I'd even borrow that money and go use it to make more money, at those rates you can't miss....

But yeah, Paulson's no dummy, he's a very smart man. He sees those dollar signs start moving, and he'll know which way the wind's blowing. Yeah, really, I've seen this guy in action, it's like, he's deceptively laid back, when he's just talking to you, but man, when he gets into something (mentally), he really digs in - so yeah, I mean, if you were going to pick a speculator to run the Treasury, Paulson would probably be one of your best choices - and maybe that's what Bushie wanted, who knows - maybe he was kinda "thinking ahead", thinking he might need someone who's "clever with money" before the end of his term....