The housing market has usually led the U.S. economy into and out of recessions. It certainly led  us into the latest slump.

The same can’t be said of the recovery. If anything, housing today is stifling economic expansion.

Rebounds in housing have typically been driven by declines in mortgage rates. Not this time. <a title="Get Quote" href="http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/quote?ticker=NMCMFUS:IND">Rates</a> on a 30-year mortgage have dropped to about 4.5 percent -- the lowest since the early 1950s -- with little effect. Tax credits and other programs to encourage buyers have provided only a modest, temporary boost.

<a title="Your House Might Be Underwater for Years" href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-08-16/your-house-might-be-underwater-for-years-commentary-by-michael-carliner.html" target="_blank">Read more...</a>