Housing.com News, Analysis & Opinion: Friday Housing News

Given the huge output in housing construction that's been boosting the bubble for so long, why don't the state and national governments simply earmark that money to subsidize actual housing development?

I don't pretend to understand all the vagaries of homebuilders' contracting rules and regulations, but it seems a waste of taxpayer dollars to build all these trailers when people are going to want to--and need to--live in real houses.

Of course, there's a flipside to this. Cole Kenny, aka Housing Bubble Boy, sees the bubble as being due to lack of housing supply, and thinks factory-built housing will indeed be the answer to the Katrina (and possibly Rita) survivors' housing needs. And indeed, FEMA seems to agree, since they've essentially written the nation's top mobile home maker a blank check.

The country is big enough that some areas could be bubbling due to lack of land to develop on, and others because there's too MUCH land and everyone wants a piece of it. Think of Boston and Las Vegas, respectively. Both bubbling, both overpriced, but each for different and unique reasons.

And of course, any family looking for new housing in the wake of Katrina or Rita will have to factor in having to pay the mortgage on the destroyed or damaged home, thus making affordability an absolute must.

This article explains both the good and bad points of the lack of regulatory oversight on housing. It's good because you're not hemmed in by rules that don't fit the uniqueness of an individual situation. It's bad because without those rules, you're at the mercy of lenders who may not give a damn if you got completely wiped out or not. They just want their money. Well worth reading.

Trackback Pings

From "The Road From FEMAville": The Washington Post has a very detailed and thorough report on the delays and difficulties in the FEMA housing effort. Given the huge output in housing construction that's been boosting the bubble for so long, why don't the state and national governments simply earmark that money to subsidize actual housing development? I don't pretend to understand all the vagaries of homebuilders' contracting rules and regulations, but it seems a waste of taxpayer dollars to build all these trailers when people are going to want to--and need to--live in real houses. Of course, there's a flipside to this. Cole Kenny, aka Housing Bubble Boy, sees the bubble as being due to lack of housing supply, and thinks factory-built housing will indeed be the answer to the Katrina (and possibly Rita) survivors' housing needs. And indeed, FEMA seems to agree, since they've essentially written the nation's top mobile home maker a blank check. The country is big enough that some areas could be bubbling due to lack of land to develop on, and others because there's too MUCH land and everyone wants a piece of it. Think of Boston and Las Vegas, respectively. Both bubbling, both overpriced, but each for different and unique reasons. And of course, any family looking for new housing in the wake of Katrina or Rita will have to factor in having to pay the mortgage on the destroyed or damaged home, thus making affordability an absolute must. This article explains both the good and bad points of the lack of regulatory oversight on housing. It's good because you're not hemmed in by rules that don't fit the uniqueness of an individual situation. It's bad because without those rules, you're at the mercy of lenders who may not give a damn if you got completely wiped out or not. They just want their money. Well worth reading.