In the last month, financial markets came as close to collapsing as they have since the Great Depression, and the root of their woes was frozen credit markets. The crisis sparked several weeks of furious and futile improvisation by U.S. regulators and lawmakers.

Back in the early 1990s, the Phoenix metro area — like the rest of the country — was suffering through a profound real estate recession and house prices declined for a record 17 straight months. Like Lou Gehrig's record for consecutive games played, it was thought it would never be equaled.

The fall in housing prices continues, with the latest data from the ASU Repeat Sales Index (ASU-RSI) showing that in June home values had dropped 22.8 percent compared to June 2007. That makes four months of double-digit declines in year-over-year price comparisons.

Drive around the biggest cities in Arizona and you'll see an interesting contrast in land usage: packed-full swaths of retail, residential, business and industrial buildings bellied up to vast fields pockmarked with weeds and here and there, a house or two, or even a shiny new casino.

Investors who enter the real estate sector in the midst of long up-cycles sometimes make the mistake of thinking that profitable times will last forever. When the inevitable tough times hit, those with no frame of reference become dismayed and confused.

The daily headlines are alarming: homeowners are falling behind on mortgage payments at an increasing rate; foreclosures are up steeply. Has the situation ever been this bad before? Well yes, said Jay Brinkmann, chief economist of the Mortgage Bankers Association.

The heady rush of taking real estate investment trusts from public to private has evaporated in today's credit-market crunch. And so, it's time to face a new reality, says New York attorney Robin Panovka, a renowned expert on REIT mergers and acquisitions.

The collapse of the subprime residential real estate market last summer has Wall Street investment banks and international financial titans reeling.

Knowledge@W. P. Carey recently taped a discussion about the subprime market between Jeffrey Coles, chairman of the finance department at the W. P. Carey School of Business, Anthony Sanders, professor of real estate and finance at the school and Steven Davidson, vice president, capital market rese

A first-time homebuyer with limited earning power and a sketchy credit history would seem to have little in common with a blue chip corporation. But thanks to some creative investment vehicles they've now been tied together.