Former Federal Reserve chairman, Alan Greenspan, thinks that the current economic downturn is temporary, according to a report in the Toronto Star. The housing market in particular may not have bottomed out yet but he does not think it will get much worse.

“I think that while we are past most of it there are a lot of negatives … but it is no longer subtracting from the (gross domestic product) growth,” the former Fed chairman said.

For the broader economy, Greenspan offered tempered optimism, citing strong profit margins and capital goods data that are “showing some potency.”

“It’s hard to envisage those two key factors coming at the beginning of a recession,” he said.

He warned that some home buyers might have interest costs increase in the short term, however.

The housing market is looking a little lopsided these days. While the selling prices of homes have gone down by 2.5% over the last year, the price tags on celebrity mansions has doubled, tripled, quadrupled and beyond.

Your average homeowner isn’t going to realize the same kind of profit when selling his home as in previous years, and housing prices are expected to fall further. Buyers are waiting cautiously, hoping to get a better deal a little further down the road.

But celebrity homes are wearing high-blown price tags. The asking price for the 10 most expensive homes rose by 23% in the last year and the average price is $71.5 million.

The gap between “us” and “them” ever widens.

The Federal Trade Commission has issued a new Facts for Consumers publication entitled Selling Your Home? Tips for Selecting a Real Estate Professional.

The new publication is designed to help consumers who are planning to sell their home. It offers information such as: the differences between agents and brokers; tips and questions you should ask when choosing a real estate broker; pros and cons of selling your own home without the services of a broker and the different types of real estate contracts.

You can view the publication at the FTC website.