11–19 of 19 posts
The seems like a nothingburger. Going after "big bad" corporations probably feels good to voters, but (iirc) studies have shown have low/no effect. Eliminating Fannie mae/Freddie Mac would've done a whole lot more to lower house prices.
We all love the bipartisanship, but this is probably too little too late. Partly because the federal governments leverage on local politics is very little but majorly because currently the interest rate and the labor/material costs is just too high especially on the coasts and none of that is regulatory burden. The Atlantic had a great breakdown [1]. Congress and/or state governments should work on a preferable inter…
It's like banning holding cell phones while driving. Talking on a cell phone while driving significantly increases the likelihood of getting in an accident, but it also makes people much more productive. There's no way to keep that productivity while driving, without hurting safety, and most people want to keep that productivity. The solution is to ban holding a cellphone while driving, while still allowing talking on a cell phone, which statistically makes no difference whatsoever. This allows politicians to do nothing, which lets people keep the productivity they desire, while also giving the appearance that they are doing something to increase safety. This kind of not-really-a-tradeoff security theater also exists in things like airport security, pandemic responses, banking identification standards, and forensics.
We all love the bipartisanship, but this is probably too little too late. Partly because the federal governments leverage on local politics is very little but majorly because currently the interest rate and the labor/material costs is just too high especially on the coasts and none of that is regulatory burden. The Atlantic had a great breakdown [1]. Congress and/or state governments should work on a preferable inter…
It's not that it's too little; there's no evidence it would do anything. Everyone wan'ts the house they sell to be worth more, and the house they buy to be cheaper. No one can make both happen, but politics have succeeded at making housing worth more, and have to settle for giving the appearance that they're doing something to make it cheaper, without actually doing anything. If they actually make building houses che…
The seems like a nothingburger. Going after "big bad" corporations probably feels good to voters, but (iirc) studies have shown have low/no effect. Eliminating Fannie mae/Freddie Mac would've done a whole lot more to lower house prices.
Until about 20 years ago, both were great and valuable institutions. Long story.
Shutting them down would be a catastrophic disaster to housing affordability.
The seems like a nothingburger. Going after "big bad" corporations probably feels good to voters, but (iirc) studies have shown have low/no effect. Eliminating Fannie mae/Freddie Mac would've done a whole lot more to lower house prices.
Eliminating Fannie and Freddie would constrain the funds available for mortgage loans and prices would skyrocket. Until about 20 years ago, both were great and valuable institutions. Long story. Shutting them down would be a catastrophic disaster to housing affordability.
Wouldn't less mortgage money available for homes make the prices of homes drop?
Earlier quoted context omitted.
It's not that it's too little; there's no evidence it would do anything. Everyone wan'ts the house they sell to be worth more, and the house they buy to be cheaper. No one can make both happen, but politics have succeeded at making housing worth more, and have to settle for giving the appearance that they're doing something to make it cheaper, without actually doing anything. If they actually make building houses che…
The easiest way to get a higher valuation for your house is to sell to an apartment builder. I realize there are loads of cultural hangups around doing that (the driving force behind NIMBY-ism), but the mathematical truth is that there is a win-win solution here if "Everyone wan'ts the house they sell to be worth more" is the only problem.
It's behind a paywall. Does this disallow corporations and non-USA residents from buying property? That works here in Switzerland sort of - prices are still super high but more because of local wealth, not Russians and Chinese buying everything. There are underdeveloped places where foreigners are allowed to buy - Andermatt for example is filled with rich Americans.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Eliminating Fannie and Freddie would constrain the funds available for mortgage loans and prices would skyrocket. Until about 20 years ago, both were great and valuable institutions. Long story. Shutting them down would be a catastrophic disaster to housing affordability.
> Eliminating Fannie and Freddie would constrain the funds available for mortgage loans and prices would skyrocket Wouldn't less mortgage money available for homes make the prices of homes drop?