AHC: Pop the Real Estate Bubble Earlier

With no PoDs prior to 2005*, how can the aforementioned house of cards come down at least a year earlier (so March 2007 or prior)? What would be the effects, on the economy (national and global), politics, et el?

*(unless it's Kerry winning the 2004 election -- and if it is, please show your work)
 
Shooting from the hip...

Someone with major credibility triggers a panic a year earlier. There seem to have been a lot of people or institutions attempting to call on the emperors nudity, but the balance was not tipped.

There should have been a larger 'correction' circa 2002-2006. I clearly remember a lot of people then realizing something was wrong, but the Lemmings were headed full throttle for a higher cliff. I hedged my bets & focused on value added vs high leverage & kept debt low after 2003. That paid off & my construction business survived & my last short term investment was profitablly sold in late 2009. Unfortunatly the breadth and depth of the real estate crash in 2008 beat the hell out of all of us through 2009 & 10. Unlike the bankers there was no bailout for the construction industry. I guess that helped me since so many large and small contractors shut down after 2008.
 
Someone with major credibility triggers a panic a year earlier.
Could the ratings agencies have done this, had they actually been doing their job early 2007?
There seem to have been a lot of people or institutions attempting to call on the emperors nudity, but the balance was not tipped....

I clearly remember a lot of people then realizing something was wrong, but the Lemmings were headed full throttle for a higher cliff.
Yeah, I too remember there was plenty of talk in 2005 of us being in the middle of a housing bubble; I remember the Economist was talking about it, it even made it into a Jib Jab cartoon ("my appointee was a big flop / the housing market is 'bout to pop").
I hedged my bets & focused on value added vs high leverage & kept debt low after 2003. That paid off & my construction business survived & my last short term investment was profitablly sold in late 2009. Unfortunatly the breadth and depth of the real estate crash in 2008 beat the hell out of all of us through 2009 & 10. Unlike the bankers there was no bailout for the construction industry. I guess that helped me since so many large and small contractors shut down after 2008.
Cool bit of perspective. Thanks for sharing :)
 
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