posted on Apr, 8 2005 @ 03:28 PM
when housing prices increase over 100% in some places in a single year, when a run-down shack is over $500K, when only 16% of families can afford a
*median* priced home, anywhere within a hundred miles of their jobs, then obviously something is wrong.
The problem is, the increased need by everyone to "make money" off of everything. People buy and sell a house simply to make money off of it. People
with liquid cash, alread affluent, buy something that is a bargain, on a whim, and sell it at a profit-their profit is the increase on the property.
Now that property is "worth" more. People desperate for a home for their families will go to great lengths to finance one, so the increased price
homes sell. This raises nearby properties as well, and the whole thing spirals upward. Good for the rich who have the income to risk, and the liquid
cash to spend, on property, sitting on it until they can sell at a profit.
Some, playing the game, simply so they can afford a quality home. Buying a home that's practically condemned. Because "everyone knows" property
values increase. So they're willing to spend more, and over time, the same run down home is sold for enough of a proft the family can finally get
something worth living in. Meanwhile, the entry level homes have increased another 10-25%. Pricing most people out of the market.
Now you get condos-apartments with a $200K price tag and all the parking and noise problems ...
but, that's okay, it's Capitalism In Action. Who cares if families need to sell themselves into indentured servitude for twwenty five years or more,
to have a home?