The Washington Post looks at that areas reliance on the housing bubble. "The U.S. economy is more dependent on housing than it has been in a half-century, as the sector fuels consumer spending and has accounted for nearly three-quarters of the nation's job growth in the past five years."

"As a result, economists worry that the housing slowdown that began late last year could hurt the broader economy more than past real estate downturns. Now the companies that have benefited from this expansion are bracing for the great unwinding."

"'People know they can always refinance or flip their houses, so they are willing to spend more,' said Matt Ross, sales manager in Falls Church, who figures that at least 20 percent of his sales of motorcycles, motor boats, and jet skis are to people who pay for their purchase using home equity."

"Economy.com figures that mortgage refinancing put money in Washington area residents' pockets equivalent to 14.5 percent of personal disposable income. That's the 14th-highest rate among major metropolitan areas, behind mostly cities in California and Florida."

"'Those economies where housing has gone skyward are most vulnerable as housing comes back down to earth,' said Mark Zandi, the Moody's chief economist."

"By almost any measure, the U.S. economy is built on housing more than in the past. In 2005, investment in housing constituted a higher proportion of the goods and services the nation produced than it has since 1950, when the nation was experiencing a massive postwar housing boom. The proportion of jobs in real-estate-related fields is the highest it has been since at least 1970."

"Case Design/Remodeling Inc., in Bethesda, has doubled to 300 employees since 2001, fueled in part by homeowners' confidence in investing in their homes and cheap money available through mortgage refinancing and home equity loans. President Mark Richardson said he is confident that business will keep growing strongly even with the housing slump."

"So what happened in 1989, the last time the housing market entered a slump? 'Oh, that was painful,' said Richardson, who had to cut his staff as sales of remodeling services declined. 'The market dropped off so dramatically and so quickly. People became very gun-shy. But then during that era, you had home appreciations that were double-digit in the 1980s, and all of a sudden, it went into negative territory. It made people say 'time out' and not want to do anything.'"