yes I agree. I was always told, and believed "a house is for living in, not an investment". It figures in my retirement plans in the sense of not having to pay rent on my house as I will own it. That is really positive because it also means not having to pay tax on the money that I would have to have to pay rent.

But I bought it because I wanted to own it and live in it, not to sell and make money off.

Having said that it's obvious that the availability of cheap money has jacked up housing costs to a stupid level, and it's obvious that when it unwinds there is going to be a big mess. What stops it from unwinding - immigration... because as soon as immigration stops the pressure will go out of the housing market and a-la Japan houses will get cheap.

> when it unwinds

Don't underestimate the inflationary potential of fiat currency. Maybe it'll just stay the same price, but everything else still gets relatively more expensive.

The majority homeowner class. Which is why politicians enabling it keep getting voted in.

The same people who keep your roads full of potholes because they piss and moan every time property taxes go up 0.08%.

My property taxes are about a third of my total payment every month, where the other two thirds are the actual mortgage. The property taxes are over 50% of what my total rent was before I got a house, which was not low. I'm happy with my town's management, who seems to use their budget quite well, but property taxes can really get you.

I think taxes should be increased on those with investment homes, second homes, mansions, and the income and wealth of the wealthy rather than just nickel and diming the middle class.

Does your local government provide a breakdown of property taxes? If they do, it's well worth checking, because it can become one of those things where you don't like the total amount, but you find each element of it to be reasonable.

Just looking at my latest report on my property tax bill (which was about $3k USD for 2022):

- about 45% of the amount went to local city administration, which includes civic services like police, fire, etc.; the city had a nearly balanced budget for the year (<$1k US away from balanced)

- about 55% of the amount went to the local school board (who are directly voted on by the city's populace and can directly levy property taxes) for teachers, administrators, building maintenance, etc.; the school board did not have a balanced budget on account of bond issues for new construction in anticipation of ongoing new housing construction

- 3% went to the local library (whose board is partially appointed by the mayor and partially self-selected), which had a small budget surplus

I'll take a look into that. Thanks for the suggestion! As I said, I'm pretty happy with my town's management so far. The town I rented in had far worse management, but it is a town of landlords and not really homeowners.

I assume it’s more people who’ve bought a house, sell it to downsize once the kids have moved out and use the excess towards their retirement (to make up the difference between the low amount they’ve been able to scrape together over the years)

I presume by "everyone" they mean upper middle class folks

"everyone that counts"

There - fixed it.

everyone that matters...