If mortgage interest deduction Goes away in Fiscal Cliff

I was discussing with my wife today about the mortgage interest deduction. We both agreed if that is taken away during the fiscal Cliff negotiations most homes will stop selling because it is a major driver of people choosing to buy homes. If they cannot deduct the interest they pay on their mortgage from their taxes why should they get a mortgage and buy a home at all? Since many are still choosing not to buy homes because of the economy, and because homes and everything that is in them is a lot of the basis of our economy here in the U.S. this could have a much more serious effect on the U.S. economy than most people realize at this point.