[quote=execute]This is my first post, but i’ve been lurking here along time.
The thing many people seem to forget is that the market is much much larger then the government. The government will fail in propping up home prices. Consider all the things the government has done up to this point: bailouts, stimulus checks, nationalization, and look at the situation the economy is in: market down 55%, unemployment surging, housing values continuing to plummet.
I guess my point is that the government is ineffective. They cannot stop this, no matter what they do. Yes, they can make the situation worse and prolong things, but I have zero faith in their ability to “fix” anything.[/quote]
It is easy to forget that government action can be very effective in distorting prices. For example, if the government were to decide tomorrow to give buyers with no downpayment enough money to buy any home at 120% of its appraised value, then I guarantee you that home prices would move up quickly. Yes, inflation would eventually shoot up, but that just transfers wealth from net savers to net borrowers. That makes it a form of confiscation, but it’s a form very much in favor in the US.
