• Former Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chairwoman Sheila Bair wants to see housing recover, but she is not riding on the bandwagon with economists who say we have found the bottom of the recession-driven pool.
• Prices and housing starts have been up, but Bair is cautious. "We are not out of the woods yet. I think there is a risk of a double-dip in housing," she said.
• Bair said one necessary step is to simplify and streamline the federal government's 14 programs for homeowners who are under water.

From the article:

A rash of better-than-expected housing data in the first half of the year has some economists and analysts saying that the home sector has hit bottom and that a recovery is not far away. However, we have heard this before, and so far the road has been uneven, at best.

Former FDIC chair Sheila Bair is among those who's only "cautiously optimistic" that housing is on the mend. ...