This week should bring us the new president's answer to the housing crisis.
He's planning a press conference Wednesday in Phoenix, of all places. (Hence our pic.)
It's one of the ground zeroes of the housing bubble, and a city whose name will, at the very least, tempt a speechwriter to prophesy the end of the housing…
This week should bring us the new president's answer to the housing crisis.
He's planning a press conference Wednesday in
Phoenix, of all places. (Hence our pic.)
It's one of the ground zeroes of the housing bubble, and a city whose name will, at the very least, tempt a speechwriter to prophesy the end of the housing bust.
More on all of that as the details flow in, but it sounds like the core goal hasn't changed much:
Then-Sen. Obama, in an Oct. 2008 presidential debate: "we've got to stabilize housing prices" and "help ordinary families be able to stay in their homes, make sure that they can pay their bills."
Senior presidential adviser David Axelrod, on "Fox News Sunday" (via this WSJ article): the plan will help in "raising home values that have been plummeting" and, according to the WSJ, would "reduce Americans' payments on troubled mortgages" – possibly limiting housing payments in reworked mortgages to 31% of pretax income.
Helpful hint: If you are not yet in default on your mortgage, get in default ASAP so you can qualify for some help.
MBC expects to be every bit as skeptical of this plan as we were of the other guy's plan last Fall. (See "
Buy Up the Bad," which assessed a proposal to have the government buy mortgages en masse and shed any inconvenient principal amounts above a home's current value.) As we said then:
Intervening to prevent market forces from having their way with home prices has a great appeal, at least in the final 4 weeks before an election. But does anyone pushing these ideas really think the declines can be halted?
We're thinking the answer to that hypothetical question is a qualified "yes." They do.
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
As always, please use this week's "Open Forum" thread for news clips, off-topic questions & discussions of (virtually) any nature. (You don't have to have an opinion on blogs.) And keep it clean.
Please see our blog disclaimer.
Listings presented above are supplied via the MLS and are brokered by a variety of agents and firms, not Dave Fratello or Edge Real Estate Agency, unless so stated with the listing. Images and links to properties above lead to a full MLS display of information, including home details, lot size, all photos, and listing broker and agent information and contact information.
Based on information from California Regional Multiple Listing Service, Inc. as of July 22nd, 2024 at 2:21pm PDT. This information is for your personal, non-commercial use and may not be used for any purpose other than to identify prospective properties you may be interested in purchasing. Display of MLS data is usually deemed reliable but is NOT guaranteed accurate by the MLS. Buyers are responsible for verifying the accuracy of all information and should investigate the data themselves or retain appropriate professionals. Information from sources other than the Listing Agent may have been included in the MLS data. Unless otherwise specified in writing, Broker/Agent has not and will not verify any information obtained from other sources. The Broker/Agent providing the information contained herein may or may not have been the Listing and/or Selling Agent.