As the Federal Reserve moves to raise short-term interest rates once again, flags are raised about the effect on housing prices. With housing being the largest household asset -- and one that has risen sharply over the last several years -- a downturn in housing prices akin to the fall in stock prices since 2000 would be devastating to families and the economy. According to the latest Federal Reserve data, American households owned $16.6 trillion in real estate in third-quarter of 2004, up $2.2 trillion in the last year, an increase of 15.4 percent. By contrast, they owned just $9.4...