Regarding the relationship between unemployment and house prices, it is actually declines in house prices that leads or causes unemployment - not the other way around.
When house prices start falling, people stop spending courtesy of the wealth effect. The fall in consumption then causes unemployment.
For example, in Australia house prices have been falling for 18 months now, and we are only just starting to see a tick up in unemployment. Let, have a look in the retail segment, everyone has already stopped spending.
