Monday, May 25, 2009
This could have been written by one of us
The Herald: Curb property addiction to avoid another disaster
There is too much to comment on everything here. I have selected a quote at random but suggest reading the whole thing if you have a little time to spare: "I spoke to a friend last week who said that his £1500 a month mortgage has now fallen to £600. He feels a bit embarrassed by this, since there are a lot of people who seem rather more deserving of a £900 a month bung. Our addiction to property must be curbed if we are to avoid yet another disastrous bubble. Property must be taxed like any other investment, like shares or savings - there is no rational justification for its exemption."
Posted by quiet guy @ 09:36 PM (802 views) Add Comment
8 Comments
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1. devo said...
"I spoke to a friend last week who said that his £1500 a month mortgage has now fallen to £600. He feels a bit embarrassed by this, since there are a lot of people who seem rather more deserving of a £900 a month bung.
Yeah, right.
You'll be telling us next his name is Jesus.
2. enuii said...
'There should be a minimum deposit of 20% on residential loans as is the case in countries like Canada and Germany which have not experienced property crashes.' On first thoughts that should do it - on second thoughts if such a policy were implemented many will just borrow the money from a third party for the pretend deposit. After all rules are meant for bending and simply spawn new businesses designed to exploit such meddling.
3. nubbers said...
I beg to differ that Canada has been immune from the housing bubble:
http://edmontonhousingbust.blogspot.com/2009/01/case-shiller-eh.html
Interesting to see that some Canadians were still on the property orgy when it must have been obvious that across the border, prices were heading south. I guess 'price crashes don't happen in my neighbourhood'. I am just glad that my relatives in Toronto who bought in 2005, have only paid ~50% over the odds.
4. dbc reed said...
Iain McWhirter has been publishing articles like this for some time in The Herald and I believe in magazines.He has been very clear in his mind all along and puts the journos in English papers to shame.
5. fubar said...
I too believe in magazines. Anyone who says they don't exist has never been inside a newsagent's.
6. mark wadsworth said...
What dbcr says.
It's the old choice - is your home a home (in which case you should be happy to pay full whack, including tax - the higher the tax the lower the original purchase price, so for an FTB it's neither here nor there) or an investment (in which case you should be happy to pay tax, just like any other investment)?
The main reason that land and property IS such a good investment is because it is relatively lightly taxed (and everything else is too heavily taxed).
7. Cashrichassetpoor said...
I think this article has hit the nail on the head.
8. mander said...
Thanks God there is still some free press in this country. I think Iain McWhirter presented the situation at best so far:
People talked endlessly about how their houses were earning more than they did, never asking where all this free money was coming from. Well the truth is that it was being stolen from the next generation. ( Stealing your own children money)