It's a bit of a sticky wicket at the moment. Rents are rising, fast, in the U.S., but inflation is relatively flat. Housing prices are recovering, but are far from any sort of bubble. One possible factor is credit isn't as easy to come by as it used to be, without at least a 700-725 rating you're not getting a conventional mortgage, and will struggle with a Fannie Mae. Whatever the reason, it's a good time to buy rental property, if you've got decent credit or (better) cash.

US is an outlier....you already had your meltdown. Australia and Canada did not.

Last time for Canada was in 1989 when housing prices dropped 45% in Toronto.....and people don't learn.

So destructive....We don't allow speculation on other essentials like water and roads and schooling but shelter is open season.

Fucked up.

Macdoc wrote:US is an outlier....you already had your meltdown. Australia and Canada did not.

Last time for Canada was in 1989 when housing prices dropped 45% in Toronto.....and people don't learn.

So destructive....We don't allow speculation on other essentials like water and roads and schooling but shelter is open season.

Fucked up.

Well London is also fucked on house prices. The bubble there will crash Britain.

Yes and the Guardian lays out the exact kind of social destruction unchecked predation on shelter wreaks,

Britain’s housing crisis is a human disaster. Here are 10 ways to solve it
Rising house prices have been willed by public policy over decades. The fallout for families, communities and business has been severe

http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015 ... l-election

Until shelter is treated like roads and water as a necessity not to be subject to speculation then this will continue.....and take mortgages away from the fucking banks and put it back in trusts so those with pensions can earn a reasonable return matching up with those needing mortgages.....no fucking middle man needed.

I'd just make it illegal to use a home as collateral for a loan unless you live in it. People who could genuinely afford multiple houses could still become landlords, but the market would be barred to speculators who buy ten houses without even having the capital to own one outright. That would be no loss.

Now, that would crash the market (thus making housing affordable for many who rent now), so it would probably best be phased in as a lowering limit on the percentage of value that could be used as collateral over time. Essentially legislate a minimum deposit on investment properties that rose over time to 100%.

No problem with mortgages for owner occupiers, or even people who borrow to purchase a single house, but need to move for work so rent it out while they rent elsewhere.

Here the idea of buying a house as an investment as died away over the last ten years. Mortgages are very tight.
House prices took a big cut during the financial crisis and are not expected to reach those heights again. Plenty of young people are looking to rent. Being tied down to house, car and children is becoming less and less of the modern life style. Flexibility and mobility are the present day buzz words especially in employment. Part-time work and greater freedoms are what many want.

Government has a incentive to have home values increase, it increases the tax base.

Jerome Da Gnome wrote:Government has a incentive to have home values increase, it increases the tax base.

Home values have nothing to do with central government.

Yes they do. Here, making a profit on your own home is pretty much the only tax-free form of income. Profits on capital gains from investment property are taxed at half the rate of wages income. Property prices are inflated by government grants to first home buyers. Most of those policies are insane, but they most certainly do effect home values.