The time will come when we'll see that the home builders, the realtors, Freddie, Fannie, appraisers and mortgage lenders deserve our wrath much more than the oil companies.
But not until homeowners feel the pain of lost equity. Which is soooo much more substantial than a few pennies at the pump.
Consumers are fuming over outsized oil company profits. But by the same logic, shouldn't home-builders and real-estate brokers be on the hot seat for soaring prices?
Americans outraged over the price of gasoline and the sensational profits of oil companies of late should stop a moment and look inward. Not at their souls, but at their homes -- which have appreciated in value at least as much as gasoline, and in many cases much more.
November 27, 2005
Hate Big Oil? Hate home-builders, too
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4 comments:
with oil, it's a laser focus on one industry (well, and their arab sponsors as well)
with housing, it's so many pieces, coming together in a perfect (and corrupt) storm
Congress is also involved, with the $250k/$500k tax-free windfall law, the home ownership tax credit, and the massive amounts of $$$ going into their campaign coffers from the guilty parties
2008 should be a wild year, politically and economically, with the housing implosion having so many ripples
I honestly don't understand the claim of "greedy homebuilders." Irresponsible lenders and unscrupulous real estate sales sure but what about building homes in response to demand in a open market is so horrible? Criticize builders for shoddy workmanship where appropriate. Complain about sweetheart deals with municipalities as long as the municpalities get most of the blame. But greed? Where does greed come into the things homebuidlers do? Are we ready to call them wonderful giving sharing pillars of the community when they start next year selling at below cost just to stay in business? If not why not as we seem all too ready to excoriate them with the conditions reversed.
There's nothing wrong with greed. Greed is good. So greedy homebuildes means taking whatever you can get (from the suckers)
It is what it is.
I predict the end of the realtor cartel when sellers get tired of paying $30K commissions to high school graduate brokers for 2 weeks of work.
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