I’m actually amazed and appalled, how a supposingly advanced democratic society, has allowed the extent of insanity in our housing market, real-estate and inability to put limitations where they need be.
Real-estate is one of the top, most corrupt “business” in American society, but the heights of this is incomparable to any. We have investors from any country buying our properties with savage lust, and no limits on this, but in most EU countries among others, strict limits are in place for the common sensical reasons we seem to be ignorant of, American citizens are not protected. Then we have our own citizens, investors, also taking advantage of the horrid status of this economy for most typical people who just want and need a home to reside in, not rent out or make money from but to have shelter from the storms, which are numerous.
The pandemic created more crashes than the 5pm Freeway 5 in Cali, and many are still playing catch up. Jobs arent paying whats needed to survive the inflation as costs for literally Everything have increased many times over the cost of living. Savings were used to get people thru the shutdowns, job loss and companies folding. Children often have one parent provider and that parent cant spread out that income any further, as rent and food increases have tapped them out. Working poor has increased tremendously, and the rich dont seem to have been effected.
The once “American dream of home ownership” has been erased because credit scores dropped during the pandemic, and late pays showing brought down scores and continue to, though 2yrs of excellent on time pmts are surpassed by the few years of trying to survive COVID.Then, homes more than doubled in price overnight, from 2020, in areas traditionally low, and real estate decided, great time to take advantage of the American people, kick em when they’re down. One cant afford the huge rent increases, and once affordable homes are now only affordable to those financially stable.
Theres no saving for a home if all the income is trying to afford rent increases, utility increases, food increases. The typical Joe+Jane Public are excluded, ignored and basically, pushed aside by investors with cash, which most home purchases are now requiring, mortgage rates too high and with taxes, etc, near impossible to keep pmts monthly due, on time.
So,who’s overseeing these desparities and unfair practices and why are they allowed, especially in our post pandemic disaster?? Why arent their limits on investors buying whats left of affordable homes and whos deciding whats actually “affordable”, and whos this geared toward?
Many get advanced notice of these homes, and bids are in before the rest are even aware of a ForSale ad. How is this fair or just or moral?
In a dog eat dog world, it has become more unfair financially than i can fathom.Why shouldn’t a hard working citizen be able to buy a home to reside in, credit score good, with a secure income,xand why must they compete to the savage degree that’s now typical in the housing market? It just should not be allowed that investors with cash take top priority over families that need to reside in a home, with a mortgage thats comparible to the majority of income thats lower in many fields, and areas than it was?
Higher college degrees are needed for the same careers and hiring practices are totally more biased.Older adults are still working or returning to work, as an overload of young grads are flooding the job market, ignoring the experience of those already been working in the field.
All this is fodder for the housing market fiasco, and the increase of greed and refusal to acknowledge the dilemma; non investors Need homes, Investors Want them.
Capitalism is the backbone of America as is greed and the death of a fair economy. When a hard working family cant make ends meet due to below survival wages, increasing prices on literally every need, and simple housing now being denied, only proves those with wealth are 1st in line for anything and we live in a society with no empathy for our average citizen, so naturally the down trodden are left to charities or just nowhere to turn.
Without mention of the elderly or disabled, its hard enough to be 30 and healthy and survive today, but those demographics are fully hopeless.
They say, a society is judged by how they care for those with the least advantages, but today, they are the majority. Society has failed, our govt has failed and our leaders have failed, miserably.Below poverty level groups are increasing, more are food insufficient, and the programs in place arent sufficient for the people needing them, mainly because funding is misused, corrupt persons are taking from the programs and no accountability from anyone is apparent.
The housing market falls in line with everything occurring now, one huge disaster. Without concern for all our citizens, all socio-economic levels, all ethnicities, we fail as a whole. Narcissism is the norm, corruption accepted, and we’ve become a society that can’t be a proud example any longer for the world to emulate…the symbol of the Statue Of Liberty no longer pertains to America…sadly, it should be replaced with a huge dollar sign$, and wording…Give Me your Money Only $ Matters
So…how ya doin’?
Median home sale prices in the U.S. actually went up 28% between the first quarter of 2020 and the first quarter of 2024. Problematic, but not “doubling”.
And there are signs the tight market is easing.
Aha.Gotcha.
Did anyone catch which paragraph supported the “housing market become This corrupt” title of the OP?
Cause I sure didn’t.
If I may restate the OP’s case in somewhat less dramatic terms…
I definitely agree the way we do housing is very problematic. It’s usually our biggest expense and it’s getting more expensive whether you’re an owner or a renter. We largely see housing as a problem for the market to solve, which means anyone at the lower end of the economic spectrum has a real problem. And we’ve essentially criminalized failing at solving that problem, even temporarily, as any un-housed person can attest.
While there are forms of assistance, the processes to use them appear byzantine and I suspect many political leaders would just as soon do away with it. As the OP said, housing opportunities can also be negatively influenced by investors who have little or no incentive to make it available at reasonable cost. Add to that builders are in some ways incentivized to create high-cost luxury housing rather what could be reasonably acquired by the low or middle class.
I don’t know if all of that adds up to “corrupt”, but I agree we have serious problems with how we do housing.
We don’t really have a “housing” market, we now have a “real estate investment” market.
One small thing “we” can do about it is to not sell our houses to investors. Actually vet your offers and sell it to someone wanting to move into it.
I will say, as someone once trying to sell their house, it’s very tempting when you see advertisements like, “We will buy your house, call this number.” It is such a massive pain in the ass to get a house ready for sale and then going through the process of actually selling it to potential buyers (though a real estate agent can help with all of that of course). When someone just says, I want to buy your house and will make that happen ASAP, it’s hard to ignore it.
By the way, that house never sold; I was so underwater and the whole housing industry was so screwed up (this was around 2010) that the bank made it almost impossible. I ended up having to let them foreclose. Ah well, water under the bridge.
“I don’t have any cash for the down payment. Do you accept savage lust?”
Give me another year of being single, then we’ll talk.
It sounds like you’re offering me a bottle of dollar store cologne.
One thing local governments can and should do is apply homestead tax exemptions liberally but do them in reverse. If you or a relative reside in the property you own you should pay minimal property taxes. If you don’t reside there and are using them as investments you should be taxed up the wazoo for doing so via property taxes. Like 10x your neighbor.
I could live with that. Maybe not 10x, but incrementally more at least.
Tell me you flunked economics 101 without telling me you failed economics 101.
Your OP is so ignorant it hurts.
It would be nice if the OP had cites. Much of the info seems to be inaccurate. There may be some truth to the general idea of it, but it reads something like a conservative talk show host bloviating about whatever subject they think will get them listeners without needing anything to back it up.
There were paragraphs?
“We’re sitting today at probably, if not the worst affordability ever, really close to the worst affordability ever — so we almost have nowhere to go but up,” Sharga said. “I do believe we’re past the worst.”
That’s a wonderful article that exactly supports the OP. “It’s been getting worse for years, but it might be at the point where it won’t keep getting worse.”
We’re still below pre-COVID housing inventory (but slowly climbing).
Houses are on the market for less than they were pre-COVID (but slowly staying longer).
One in three houses are owned by “investors”.
Interest rates are the highest they’ve been in 25 years (but starting to drop).
Meanwhile, short term rentals are still a global plague, landlords are colluding on rent prices for an entire area, and local governments seem either unwilling or unable to solve any of those issues.
The free money central banks have been printing like there’s no tomorrow finally found it’s way from the money markets into to consumer space through the mortgage markets. That it has taken this long is a miracle.
The problem has fuck-all to do with foreign investors, air-bnb, investors buying houses or whatever scapegoat you like. It is about idiots in charge of central banks who thought they could print their way out of trouble.
But then the landlord who is paying 10x more tax will, of course, add that 10x to the monthly rent payments he demands from the poor renter.
So the poor renters give more of their salary to the landlord.
Result: this makes poor people poorer and rich landlords richer.
(I ain’t no economist, but I think my logic is reasonable. If now, please 'xplain it to me.)
Rent rates like real estate prices are controlled by supply and demand. That is you can attempt to charge what ever you want for something but the price will be determined by what someone is able and willing to pay.
If rent rates are truly unaffordable by anyone then no one should be able to pay and landlords will have no renters.
The housing market is the same way. People say “nobody can afford a house anymore”. Not true. If there is no demand for something but the supply exists then the prices will fall. Bidding wars on homes just tells me there is a low supply and people willing and able to pay asking price or above because of that.