The Centre for Economics and Business Research reckons house prices will steady next year and shoot up for three years after that, thanks to housing shortages and building project cancellations - reports The Grumbler.
"Real estate could become a very good investment and inflation hedge once the government starts seriously printing money," commented Jim from San Marcos (who still has a realtor's licence) after his July 27th post.
3 comments:
oh gawd, surely not again ! what does it take to shake people out of this time-expired logic ?
(a) for pity's sake, the banking sector is drifting towards meltdown ! So - there's the small problem of who's going to be left standing after the worst rigours of the downturn. This isn't going to be a 2-quarter blip, the casualty rate will be high, and it won't just be walking wounded ...
(b) elasticity in housing demand is great - albeit at the considerable discomfort and stress of doubling-up / overcrowding. Look how many migrant workers have been effortlessly 'accommodated' in the UK over the past 3 years
The way state and local authority care for the elderly is headed (as well as petrol prices) there could be a LOT less grannies living on their own a decade from now - and I'm not alluding to hypothermia
Hi, Nick - you echo my own feelings about the housing shortage, i.e. that there isn't one, it's just that housing is misallocated, which suggests a pricing mechanism needs to be introduced.
E.g. instead of 100% relief on council tax for the very old, and 25% discount for those living alone, charge everyone according to the property only, and then the occupant/s can decide if the property is worth the running costs, to them.
when I was Chair of housing in a large London borough we tried all the incentives & tricks (short of letting slip Rachman's dogs) to encourage under-occupiers - both public and private sector - to move to more suitable = smaller places and free up tremendous amounts of space
an uphill struggle ! and my old grandma was carried out feet first from her 3-bed house at the age of 97, we couldn't persuade her either
but times are a-changin ...
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