Reply #29: The status quo is indeed a big deal, and many people are suffering

[slackmaster]

You are addressing someone who was put out of work multiple times by the S&L crisis in the early 90s, and despite years of hard work could not break into the housing market until age 36.

The question we should be asking is what kind of treatments are available, and the consequences of whatever we do (any of which is bound to have both good and bad results).

It took a lot of leaders asleep at the wheel to allow the greed inherent in the market drive things to their present untenable condition. I really don't know what kind of force should be applied to help ease it back into a more stable state in which property values climb at modest rates over time; where qualified borrowers get credit, unqualified ones don't, and people don't live in fear of forces beyond their control.

I am interested in anyone's thoughtful opinion, but I am not one to give into hype like simplistically comparing one figure to another and declaring it a disaster without looking at it in a larger context. Getting foreclosed on is a disaster for anyone it happens to, but a large majority of us who own homes aren't in any danger of it and are not really affected by falling market values because we view our homes as homes and not vehicles for short-term profit.

The collapse of the current housing bubble is NECESSARY for the market to get back to a state where normal people can afford to buy a home. Unfortunately some people are going to lose along the way no matter who does what about it.