>http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/04/13/business/housing.php?page=1

Just when I thought this article was an exercise in silliness, i.e. Europeans blaming everything on the U.S. again, I came to this paragraph:

For countries like Ireland, where prices were even more inflated than in the United States, it has been a painful education, as homeowners learn the American vocabulary of misery.

Exactly. We are not the only country that has had an overheated housing market, and we are not the only one subject to economic adjustments of distorted markets. If they want to blame us for the housing correction, they should also "blame" us for the run-up that preceded it.

When in doubt, blame the Americans! Good grief.