> High housing prices are great for those who already owned houses
Not really. Rising prices (not high prices) are great for people holding houses as investments. But for owner-occupied houses, rising prices are as bad for the owners as they are for everyone else.
my wife and I own a house in Northern California, which we bought during the sub-prime crash. Since then it has nearly doubled in price. It is also too big for us, so we'd like to sell it and move to a smaller house. But we can't. Why? Because by the time you factor in:
1. Capital gains tax
2. Real estate agent fees
3. Higher property taxes (even a smaller house costs much more than the prop-13 basis in our current house)
Not really. Rising prices (not high prices) are great for people holding houses as investments. But for owner-occupied houses, rising prices are as bad for the owners as they are for everyone else.
my wife and I own a house in Northern California, which we bought during the sub-prime crash. Since then it has nearly doubled in price. It is also too big for us, so we'd like to sell it and move to a smaller house. But we can't. Why? Because by the time you factor in:
1. Capital gains tax
2. Real estate agent fees
3. Higher property taxes (even a smaller house costs much more than the prop-13 basis in our current house)
we can't afford to move!