Housing bust gives agencies a tax windfall

With new houses sitting vacant in the desert and foreclosures soaring, it didn't take long to figure out the reason. Home ownership rates, real estate prices, and interest rates were all falling, so fewer people were deducting mortgage interest and mortgage holders had often borrowed less or had refinanced at lower rates. The value of itemized deductions dropped 20 percent for the year - led by a decline in the tax break for mortgage interest.