They Will Never Learn

Okay, okay.  So I get it, I mean, who doesn’t?  In fact, who could miss it?  The whole world, literally, is in some form of economic downturn or another.  Much, if not all, of this can be laid at the feet of the real estate or housing bubble here in the United States.  It was, after all, the inflation of homes that caused banks and other lending institutions to over extend themselves and take on some really really bad investments.

Now, if you wanna get into any form of political blame game, you can.  Either it is the republicans for “de-regulation” or it’s the democrats for the Community Reinvestment Act.  Maybe it’s democrat ssenators refusing to reign in Frannie and Freddie.  Heck, maybe it’s republican senators failing to reign those guys in.  Whatever, the point is, some form of government “tampering” led the housing markets down the path they have taken.  And the result is, well, the result is where we are today.

So, the lesson?  The lesson, of course, is to just let stuff be.  Especially the housing markets!  Just don’t touch ’em right now!  For gawd’s sake, don’t touch ’em.

Right?

Anyone listening?

Cricket.  Cricket cricket.

Nope, they aren’t.  And here is the proof:

http://www.wral.com…

Paragraphs rendered:

A report being considered by Chatham County commissioners says that recent development trends have divided the county and priced people out of some areas.  In recent years, the eastern half of the county has seen a housing boom, with development springing up close to areas such as Cary and Chapel Hill. Meanwhile, experts say, the western portion of Chatham hasn’t seen that same growth.

This happens all the time.  Certain land areas experience higher growth than others.  As the demand for those land areas increases, that land becomes more expensive.  The county needed top study this?

“The homes that were being created were for people who were in a higher-income category,” Commissioner Carl Thompson said.

Ahh, well, maybe not.  Seems that that intuit what’s going on.  Good.

Real-estate broker Katy O’Leary said that weekly, she has to tell some customers that they can’t afford a home in the eastern part of the county. Home prices there run from $350,000 and up, she said.

I suspect the same is true of Jaguar dealers.  Some people can afford homes in expensive neighborhoods  Others can’t.

O’Leary said the disparity of housing prices has an easy explanation: “The dirt’s too expensive.”

High lot prices force developers to build mostly only higher-end homes, she said.

Amen sista’!  End lesson on Econ101.  Wait, what?  They aren’t happy with this?

We could “actually require developers, maybe, to set aside certain portions of their development as lots for moderate-income homes,” Thompson said.

So, here we are.  In the middle of an economic housing bust, one we are trying to fix by ridding ourselves of a housing glut, and we are going to ADD to the complexity by mandating builders build homes on property they otherwise wouldn’t.  The result?  Somewhere, someone will be paying more for a home than it’s worth.  Sound familiar?

Jeez.

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