Why houses are losing their value to society as well as investors

Prof. Biggest Big Brother CollateralDamage has written (and the Washington Post has published) a fine article about how the value of houses has declined in ways beyond the price tag.

But the experience of owning a home, that cherished ideal of Americans for two centuries, no longer engendered the regularity, good conduct and economy the Victorians had thought it would. Outright greed took hold. Ordinary homebuyers proudly spoke of “flipping” houses: buying a home — maybe not even living in it — and soon thereafter selling it for the quick profit. Others borrowed against their homes — to finance still other purchases. As Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush urged higher homeownership rates, real estate operators pushed subprime loans, no-document loans and hidden adjustable rates on the gullible and the avaricious. Virtually anybody could and had to own a home.

He stays away from snarky opinion and actually includes facts and stuff like that. I hope this sort of thing doesn’t gain popularity among the public.