President Obama has often said that it would be a shame to waste this economic crisis. Nowhere is that more true than in real estate, where federal homebuyer tax credits up to $8,000 are barely denting the mortgage foreclosure rate. Instead, let’s use this crisis to try a new approach: slashing the 6 percent real [...]
Read Full PostAlmost every house sold includes a real estate commission of 5% or more. Eliminate that real estate commission – or vastly reduce it – and the value of every house theoretically rises 5% with no change in price. This would facilitate selling by the owner and/or create more equity in the owner’s house if they don’t sell. While 5% more equity will not solve the housing crisis, it would put a noticeable dent in it…and that 5% might otherwise have been taken out of the government bailout fund. This posting shows how to do exactly that
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The solution to the housing crisis –and part of the solution to our economic downturn — is right at America’s doorstep. Let a million more well-to-do immigrants into the country, to buy and rent the unused units, and to start spending money.
There is no other choice. The solution certainly won’t come from within the US [...]