IMHO, there would be plenty of money in the private market for mortgages, but it would come at a much higher price (rate), and require a better guarantee (which could be a higher down payment). Yes, housing prices would go down, but I’m not convinced that’s such a bad thing. IMHO, we spend far too much of our incomes on housing, and it’s breaking the backs of American workers.
Affordable housing is a GOOD thing.
One item that does cause me distress is that we’re moving from “everyone should own a home (or two, or five)” to “only certain/rich people should own homes, and everyone else should have to rent from them.” This is just as bad and just as dangerous as claiming that everyone should own. What we need to do is recognize that home ownership is, in general, a beneficial thing for working families, and that we SHOULD encourage prudent home buying. We can do this by *discouraging* speculation and “investment” in housing.
