patrick.net

Bellingham Bill says

If the system had been allowed to evolve its own work-outs without massive Fed intervention 2008-2010, Wall Street would have looked like the end of Fight Club, every pension fund in the US would be twice as broke as it is now, and we'd have had many riots on the scale of LA 1992 due to the massive commercial instability having TBTF actually fail would produce.

TBTF was and is the financial cardio-pulmonary system of the economy. If it dies, our economy dies with it.

Nonsense. Pension funds are/were insured by government. So are/were depositors up to a very large amount (via combinations). You are out of your mind if you think people having more than $100k cash savings in each bank across several banks would be rioting like the hooligans in LA 1992. What? Drive their S500 or Land Rover through the grocery store door? or to steal from the store a TV that is half the size of the one already sitting in the living room?

A bailout, if any, should have involved the government deposit insurance agencies (i.e the depositors), not the TBTF banks that ran the financial system to the ground.

hrhjuliet says

It is not about being noble, it is about making sacrifices and taking responsibility so the next generation has a better life. The inflated prices are not a fact of life forever set in stone. The prices are creating a fuedalist like market. What future do my students have if they don't inherit in this market? So only the rich and the children of current homeowners get a chance? That's so incredibly wrong.

Yes, I am willing to risk my equity, and we all should be willing.

What makes you say the prices are inflated?
If a buyer and a seller agree on a price, that's the market. You can't butt in and tell others what to buy and sell for.
It's a free country.

If it's still a free country, than I also have a right to my opinion and my vote. It is an inflated market and it needs to come down, and it will. I can choose to vote and protest against the bailouts and every other scheme that created this inflated disaster.

The seller and buyer of water can agree that $100 dollars a gallon is a fair price for drinking water, and the rich will buy it, and the rest of the population will become serfs trying to survive and pay for water. But it is still wrong, and not something that a positive civilization should engage in.

Shelter is a need, and should not be primarily an investment. Beyond that, we have a society that hopefully still believes in the principles this country was founded on and hopefully still want to see a thriving middle-class and life worth living for the next generation.

hrhjuliet says

Shelter is a need, and should not be primarily an investment. Beyond that, we have a society that hopefully still believes in the principles this country was founded on and hopefully still want to see a thriving middle-class and life worth living for the next generation.

I agree shelter is a necessity. Do you know our country is the most housed nation in the world?
Why do you think that is? We must be doing something right.

Call it Crazy says

Strategist says

What makes you say the prices are inflated?

Here's the current situation:

http://patrick.net/?p=1239961

Does not indicate prices are inflated.

House is both a shelter and an investment. Without being an investment, durable houses wouldn't be built or maintained.

The issue is the interest rate and easy credit availability. With interest rate artificially low and over-abundance of easy credit money, capital assets can be over-priced thru forward discounting on too-low of an interest rate therefore resulting in bad investment.

Call it Crazy says

Strategist says

Call it Crazy says

Strategist says

What makes you say the prices are inflated?

Here's the current situation:

http://patrick.net/?p=1239961

Does not indicate prices are inflated.

Then why are sales DOWN by double digits YoY when inventory is UP by double digits YoY??

Sales are down, not prices.
Sales are down because of unnecessary tight loan requirements. If they loosen up as they should prices would go even higher.
Higher home prices are good for the economy, not lower.

Reality says

House is both a shelter and an investment. Without being an investment, durable houses wouldn't be built or maintained.

Believe it or not, some people maintain their home so it's a safe and enjoyable place to live. Some of the most durable homes I have ever been in were built by the owners with no intention of selling it or renting it. Durable, aesthetic and well-made homes decreased when prices began to rise. I think bulls and bears would agree on that.