If the economic stimulus packages work (not the plural--they have to work in all countries) and economies stabilize, we're in for a big bout of inflation, I think.  With the governments having injected so much money into the financial systems, the money supply will just be too high.

I THINK. I don't know a lot about economics. But in my first economics course, in high school, one of the definitions of inflation was an increase in the money supply, which makes prices rise.

When government spending ramped up in the 1970s, we experienced big inflation.  In inflationary times, hard assets are considered good to already have.  This category includes houses.

As tough as the economy seems now,  with house values tanking, it's hard to imagine that a home will again be a major financial asset.