March 31 loomed for months as the day when the U.S. Treasury would stop purchasing $1.25 trillion worth of mortgage-backed securities and effectively remove a major support to the fragile housing market.

But now that the program has ended, economists interviewed by BUILDER suggest that builders-and others involved in the housing market-don't need to panic. "This has been so well advertised," says Scott J. Brown, chief economist for Raymond James & Associates in St. Petersburg, Fla. "Investors have had plenty of time to get used to it. The Fed has been gradually unwinding its liquidity programs. ... This is just one more step toward getting back to equilibrium."

Read More from Builder Online