patrick.net

I'm still baffled by the unsold condos in San Francisco. Within blocks of me no less. No way I can walk past those places, seeing they've been empty for over a year since completion, and think this market is anywhere near normal.

The government of the United States has enough tools at its disposal to avoid housing from crashing, and they will do that not because they favor home-owners, but simply because there is no other choice to prevent the economy from descending into chaos and uncertainty.

Take a look at all the other economies around the world. The US is far, far, far better off than any of the other countries, Europe included. Quality of life here still exceeds anything China, India or any of the other so-clled booming economies offer to the average person. The amount of government corruption that exists even in a genuine democracy like India is simply too staggering and it will infuriate you. Ask the scores of Indians working in IT and listen to their stories of bureaucrats earning the equivalent of $200/month salaries ending with assets worth $4 -5 million.

The US is good. Life is good. We only need to fix our broken healthcare, weed out illegals by strengthening border patrols and enforcing constitutional laws and reduce our meddling in other countries' affairs. You will see prosperity with no limits.

Propping up home prices in the short term does not help our economy. It assures that more people will be underwater in the end. They can't hoard the inventory forever. This is price-fixing, and it's forcing Americans to overpay for houses.

Steady-
The problem with the housing market is that prices are too high. If prices came down another 50% tomorrow, the crisis would be over. Americans can not afford these homes. That is the problem. We need home prices to correct but the gov't keep interfering and delays the entire process.

If the gov't had enough tools at its disposal to avoid housing from crashing, it would have prevented it from falling in 2006. There is no way they can hold this inventory forever. Foreclosures are still stacking up at a record pace. If the economy fully recovers and all the jobs come back then we may have a chance. Another option is to demolish all the empty homes to shrink the inventory. I am sure none of those options will ever take place.