[JasonC]

"An estimated 25% to 50% of all U.S. jobs have been connected to the housing industry in recent years"

Um, nonsense. I think it meant to say "net new jobs". Construction is $550 billion a year, all real estate (including sales, rental, etc) is $1,375 billion. That's about 4% and 10% of the economy, respectively.

[ex-Texan]

You are forgetting about all the banking, mortgage, home owner insurance, title insurance, legal and other jobs directly related to real estate. Also, because people used their homes like ATM machines to access cash, other jobs not directly related to housing includes: auto sales, auto insurance, retail sales, restaurant, newspaper advertising, credit card biz, and the list goes on and on.

[Bubba_Leroy]

"An estimated 25% to 50% of all U.S. jobs have been connected to the housing industry in recent years"

An estimated 50% to 75% of all statistics cited in newspaper articles are made up out of thin air.