What is the rational support for this argument?
The housing market is an extension of the economy, not a driving force behind it (i.e. people have jobs and make some money and then spend some of that money on housing...not the other way around).
Housing is certainly important...but it is not THE prime mover of an economy.
I say this as someone in the RE business.
It's all tied together. Pretty simple really.
The rational support for this argument is the classic business cycle. In previous cycles the response to recession was the FED pushing interest rates down. This buoys bond prices and early cycle stocks like banks.
Lower rates encourage business investment in new technologies increasing productivity and individuals building and buying new homes, or businesses building new apartment complexes.
Recovery in building prompts purchase of furniture and appliances causing those industries to improve.
Eventually the FED senses the recovery is taking hold and begins to increase interest rates. This leads to investors selling off bonds and purchasing equities.
That is about where we are now. But, as posters are correctly pointing out, stronger recoveries in the past resulted from a much more stable job climate.