David B. Shemano wrote: > Anecdotal info from the LA Times: "Homeownership loses its luster: Economic > uncertainty, unstable prices and simple math have given Americans less > incentive to buy." > http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-renters-20110219,0,6846786,full.story. > And they published a Michael Kinsley editorial against rising home prices: > http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-kinsley-home-prices-20110215,0,5042856.story. > Maybe there is a chance in my lifetime people will think of housing as a > depreciating consumption good and not an appreciating capital investment.<
I hope David is right. People should view their homes as consumption goods, not investment goods and especially not speculative commodities. Pen-l alumnus Dean Baker has a good critique of the mystique of homeownership. But then when the US government subsidized first-time home buyers (as an effort to prop up the housing market) he went along and bought a house. He's not a hypocrite: his argument against homeownership (by most people) was based on costs and benefits. -- Jim Devine / "Living a life of quiet desperation -- but always with style!" _______________________________________________ pen-l mailing list [email protected] https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l
