Open up a options market for homes. Where you can buy puts or go short calls on your home. If your house depreciates you can force the bank to buy your home at the strike price by calling up and having them assigned the home. you can do a home equity options collar to insure your downside and collect some premiums to help offset the cost of insurance and/or pocket a little extra on the side. Of course if house prices go up you might be assigned and forced to move out saturday after the third friday of the month if you sell shorter term housing equity calls. But it could be a possibility, maybe by a home and sell a deep in the money call leap and buy an out of the money put. it could be useful I think.
You know in Office Space when Tom mentions his idea for a jump to conclusion mat? This is that idea.... In equities, a share is a share is a share. They are all the same (assuming same class shares). Houses are totally different.
Who would underwrite the contracts? Who sets fair market value for the underlying. They already list some real estate options on the index and futures.