What do you think? Is it possible for every American to own their own home?

[capthek]

x posted to progressivism and recession2007Will Bush be the first president since the great depression to find the percentage of home ownership to decline dramatically? Will this mean anything in the 2008 elections? Is this a democratic versus republican issue? (By the way, major democrats like John Edwards have been trying to regulate these risky subprime lenders for

Comments

[molliemole]

This doesn't appear to address what I consider to be one of the factors in current home building, which is that all of the homes are huge and much more expensive than anything I want, need, or can afford. If this is the only choice I'm offerred, what should I do? Many people apparently opt to buy the hugely expensive home and hope thay can continue to make the payments.

Short on sympathy

[saint_monkey]

I agree, I see so much being made of this crisis, when smart buying would have kept them out of this situation. In addition to the whole greed factor of, "I need 1000 more square feet than Joe-Bob," there is the whole idea of how foolish it is to buy in a out of control housing market. You don't buy the American Dream when it is being sold to you at a 300% markup, with a large interest rate, and finance it by structuring an impossible to meet balloon payment. They all got lied to, and told that the market would never correct, and that any home would appreciate in the future, or that when the rates got better, they could re-finance their way out of the predatory loan, and they literally bought into the lie. In many ways they knew what they were doing, and they were betting on continuing market good-will to rescue them all

[jsemaj]

very true... i've seen darned few new 800 sq foot homes for sale in my region (that'd still run you about 168,000 dollars).

[ivorydamsel]

Ha! Some standard 880-square-foot homes in my area that were built in the 1950s on quarter-acre lots (in Tysons Corner area of No. Va., within five minutes of two major interstates, and within 10 minutes of Metro) have begun to sell for $500,000+.

The same little houses rent for $1,500 to $2,000 a month (as do modest one- to two-bedroom apartments here).

The D.C.-area housing market is absolutely insane.

[jeru]

I've been looking at this issue very closely, since I would like to own a home someday.

When I first got out of College and was working, I was thinking of perhaps getting a loan and buying a home.

Boy, am I ever glad I didn't.

Unlike many of the people that are now facing foreclosure, I took a serious look at myself and my financial stability and decided that I wasn't ready for the responsibility that comes with owning a home. I didn't want to get suckered in, as it were.

I can't help but feel that if people would have just sat down and realistically examined their Finances and Credit, that none of this would have happened.

That and c'mon...you can't trust someone working on commission anyway. Not that they are doing anything illegal, but their JOB is to get you committed. If you sign and don't do your homework, then I don't see why I as a taxpayer need to bail your sorry ass out.

Besides, with this downtrend, by the time I'll be ready to buy (5-6 years from now), I'll be able to get a house dirt cheap.

[jeru]

all the more reason for people to do their homework before signing on the bottom line. My momma always said that you can't trust anyone, and that goes double for salesmen.

Thanks for pointing that out, though.

[jsemaj]

take your family income, multiply it by three that is what you can comfortably afford a mortgage on. Someone tells you otherwise they are a liar.

For the math impaired- 40,000 a year = $120,00 dollar house. Haven't seen any of those in my parts for 6 or 7 years now.

[iamrosalita]

I despair of ever owning a house. Crappy houses in marginal neighborhoods are going for more than I can afford. I could probably do a small condo, if I could get a good deal.

[lurkitty]

Part of this problem was the deregulation of the lending industry that has allowed lenders to charge fantastically high rates. Most of the folks that are losing in the market also have a few high interest credit cards, too. Predatory lending hits the most vulnerable people.

The fact is that most bankruptcies in the US are because of medical bills. A family with a formerly stable financial situation undergoing a catastrophic medical condition that sidelines a breadwinner and saps their savings may refinance thinking they can just refi again in a couple of years. But things don't get better and they lose their home.

Sure, some of this is pure fiscal mismanagement. But much of it is the sick system we live in that is designed to soak every last dime out of the middle class and lead them straight into the poorhouse while enriching the privileged few.

[capthek]

You are certainly right. My research into subprime and predatory lending has included two dozen interviews of the victims of predatory lending and they have lost their equity through refinances that were nothing less than legalized theft. Cuts in a multitude of social services over the past several years have left poor people strapped for cash, and they have had to deal with unscrupulous financiers to pay normal bills.

I post on subprime lending from time to time over at the community recession2007 if you are curious. I am hoping that the regulations being passed in a number of states is a sign of a changing times back to the wider provision of social services and a more progressive tax system to pay for it.

One of the things I am trying to figure out in my dissertation is, at what point does normal capitalist relations that include exploitation become overexploitative? You know? At what point does profit making turn into a crime? Anyway, FYI...