I had a chance to sit in and listen to what I found to be a fascinating debate on the current housing crisis when I was in Manhattan on Wednesday, 1/9, at Inman Connect.  The five members of the panel were Dottie Herman, President and CEO of Prudential Douglas Elliman, Barry Ritzholtz, Fusion IQ, Noah Rosenblatt, Founder, Urban Digs, and Professor Nouriel Roubini, New York University's Stern School of Business.

What struck me as I was sitting there listening to the panel was how surreal the panel was.  We had Dottie Herman on the left side of the panel, light, bright and almost downright breezy on the health and heartiness of Manhattan real estate, contrasted by Prof. Roubini, on the far right, glowering, dismal, and so dark in his predictions you almost felt like stepping in front of a NYC taxicab, just to put an end to it all. In between we had the other three panelists, much more moderate in their views of the current situation, but definitely on the bearish side.

Here are a few quotes I jotted down.

Dottie Herman~ we lived through 19 1/2% interest rates and we will make it through again.

Rosenblatt ~ This is a necessary but good thing for us to go through. We should go through this and accept it. This has to happen, he said, we need this downturn."

Roubini~ There will be 10 million houses with negative equity.  This is not just a housing crisis, this country is in a debt crisis.

And I wish I knew who said this one~  "We need Wall St to open up the kimono and start making loans again"

If you have the time to listen to the panel discussion, The Housing Debate: Bull vs, Bear, here.  I guarantee you will find it fascinating.

Lisa Ryan, Your Princeton and Montgomery Real Estate Specialist

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed by The Activerain Network and it's members and those providing comments are theirs alone, and do not reflect the opinions of Lisa Ryan and Prudential NJ Properties.  Lisa Ryan and Prudential NJ Properties are not responsible for the accuracy or content provided by The Community.

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