How Homeownership Became the Engine of American Inequality

Re:How Homeownership Became the Engine of American Inequality by avelis on Tuesday May 09, 2017 @01:10PM (#14301864)

I think I remember hearing something on Planet Money on if the MID was reformed or eliminated that house prices would drop basically across the board as an adjustment to that tax code change.

Certain homeowners with a mortgage could, almost overnight, go underwater with their home and on the other end homes could become more affordable under a smaller price point.

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Re:How Homeownership Became the Engine of American Inequality by dcdanko on Tuesday May 09, 2017 @01:15PM (#14301922)

Surely the MID would need to be slowly phased out or just capped?

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Re:How Homeownership Became the Engine of American Inequality by rootusrootus on Tuesday May 09, 2017 @01:49PM (#14302292)

I would think so. Assuming it was politically feasible at all, it seems like it would need to be phased in. Or at least announced quite publicly that loans originated after a particular date could not have their interest deducted. It's not particularly fair to existing homeowners to eliminate the deduction after they've already purchased a house.

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Re:How Homeownership Became the Engine of American Inequality by TheCoelacanth on Tuesday May 09, 2017 @04:05PM (#14303378)

> Or at least announced quite publicly that loans originated after a particular date could not have their interest deducted

That would probably cause a crash in the housing market and leave many homeowners underwater on their mortgages. Phasing it out gradually seems like a better approach to me.

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Re:How Homeownership Became the Engine of American Inequality by smileysteve on Tuesday May 09, 2017 @05:23PM (#14303915)

Micro economically, the same happens as interest rates go up. As interest rates go up, the demand at that price drops, which means that supply has to lower the price to keep a liquid market.

If you're in the currency manipulation / house flipping game, you ideally want to buy when interest rates are high and sell when interest rates are low.

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