US housing market in ‘much worse shape’ than Fed admits: economist

Read the book. It's not always the case

 

Seems to me that Socialism has been unworkable over a very short time. Longer if you combine it with authoritarianism.

 

It is out of control. A 3 bedroom 1300 square foot home in Mission Viejo CA built in 1972 is up for $850,000. The value is up nearly 200% in 10 years. Ready for collapse?

When it happens it will be interesting. The country has never been so divided during an economic meltdown.

 

Also, some people believe they should be able to afford a McMansion on a fixer upper salary. We bought a fixer upper. Six years later, a whole lot is fixed, but there are more fixes. There’s always more. We get the money back when we sell, though, as long as we didn’t buy when people were stupid spending.

 

Agreed. Marx wrote about the Capitalism of the early/middle nineteenth century before the major reformations which made it a much more workable and humane system.

One I can think offhand is 2008 when people were actually using the "interest only" mortgage which was based on the idea that real estate could NEVER go down, which caused a "bubble" that made it do just that rather precipitately.

Here's another book Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds. Not read near often enough according to most opinion.

 

I read the book. I also played the author's board game "Cash Flow for kids" with my children.

You said its better to be a renter in most circumstances. You later amended your statement to owning is better in most cases. I am having trouble understanding your point. Can you give me an example?

 

I misstated the first statement. Reread the book, it has better examples than any I know of.

 

With all due respect, you need to back up your own statements and shouldn't need a book to explain things for you.

Give me one case where renting is better than home ownership for an individual.

 

Major repairs is about it. Living in an older home myself, I’ve had two roofs replaced, a slab leak fixed, other major plumbing work done, complete HVAC replacement, and not paid a dime. I’d rather own. At least my current landlord is decent.

 

Yes now people believe they have a RIGHT to live in other people's property and even require the owners to maintain it for them without paying rent.

 

No that is government intervention into the private markets and it's inflationary fiscal policy which is now being met with higher interest rates. Private sector boom here comes the Government bust.

 

So we should all become social workers and the world will just be hunky dory? How rewarding would that be?

 

I truly sympathize for these less fortunate folks unlike Democrats see them as pawns, which is the case with the eviction moratorium. We should have let the virus run it's course like Sweden and shut nothing down. How was it that Home Depot, Lowes, and big box retailers were essential businesses but mom pop shops selling the same products were not. But oh no, big brother know best only turned out that everything they told us were lies on top of lies. The only winner were big pharmaceuticals and well connected.

 

Transient work conditions. I’m sure there are others, but that’s the one I can think of.

 

Back in my grandfathers day, (1940’s thru 1960’s) an average Joe could afford a home, a bunch of land and even feed multiple mouths on a single salary. The country was far more conservative back then. Have you noticed that the further left we go, the further and further we get away from “the American dream”? That ship has long sailed. Our new government says you will have nothing, own nothing and shut your mouth and be happy about it.

 

Prices are still high, people may no longer get their houses sold in 3 days anymore, but I don't see any price reductions. Home sales are the lowest since 2016.

 

I still don’t know what the boy who cried wolf is convinced is happening.

 

House across the street sold for half million. 2 bed, 1 bath. In one day. A month ago.

 

The housing market has been in an alternate dimension for years now. If anything, this is things coming back down to Earth where most of us normal people live.

 

Everyone who works in banking is part of the problem. I should know, i'm married to a banker.

The only purpose of that industry is to find ways to make money from nothing.

 

You have no idea the purpose of a banking system then.

Try again

You>>

So we should all become social workers and the world will just be hunky dory? How rewarding would that be?

 

Not even the Social Workers would like that.

 

We should all work in the financial industry and figure out new and creative ways for us to be rewarded for trading bad loans.

 

When you do not have enough for a down payment to protect you in the early years. When you expect to be moving within about 5 years and having to pay commissions every time you move. A $200,000 is going to have a $14,000 sales commission, yes I know you can find some online companies that will take less but AFAIK local real estate commissions are still 7%. If you have to pay that every few years or so every time you move it's going to eat you alive.

So there are some specific cases when renting makes sense but long run owning should be the plan and then paying off before you retire.

 

Yeah we all be going hungry unless we could each farm our own food and wearing animal skins if we are lucky enough to kill an animal on our own.