Skip to main content

Housing: The Foundations of the Middle Class Are Crumbling

 Charles Hugh Smith discusses the current state of housing as it relates to the middle class. Historically, homeownership provided stability and financial security, but now these foundations are eroding.

1. Homeownership's Historical Importance: Since World War II, owning a home has been crucial for achieving middle-class status and financial security through equity build-up.

2. Rising Costs: Ownership costs have become unpredictable and excessive, with increased insurance premiums and property taxes due to climate change and rising home values.

3. Mortgage Challenges: Current mortgage rates are higher than they were in previous years, making housing unaffordable for many potential buyers. Those with low rates are trapped in their homes.

4. Increased Ownership Costs: The total cost of homeownership now exceeds previous housing bubbles, turning house buying into a gamble rather than a secure investment.

5. Affordability Crisis: Housing has become increasingly unaffordable, similar to conditions during the last housing crash. Many regions have seen sharp increases in housing prices outpacing wages.

6. Supply and Demand Issues: High costs of land, materials, and labor complicate efforts to build affordable housing, with restrictive zoning laws further inhibiting new developments.

7. Generational and Regional Divides: Older generations who bought homes years ago benefit from accumulated equity, while younger buyers struggle with inflated prices and limited opportunities.

8. Renting is Not Cheaper: Rising rent prices mirror the cost of buying homes, with rental agreements lacking predictability, leading to financial instability for renters.

The loss of predictability in housing costs has undermined the traditional role of homeownership as a source of financial security, making it a risky investment. As housing affordability declines and ownership costs soar, the middle class faces increasing instability, reminiscent of a gambling environment where the odds are against them. The changing landscape of housing may leave future homeowners and current owners in precarious positions as costs continue to rise.

https://charleshughsmith.substack.com/p/housing-the-foundations-of-the-middle

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Fauci Files Reveal Pfizer Helped Biden Rig 2020 Election

 Pfizer secretly colluded with Joe Biden's team to help him rig the 2020 election against Trump, according to new Fauci documents. In his new book, "On Call," Fauci admits that Albert Bourla, the CEO of Pfizer, called him the night after Biden was declared the winner of the election, to inform him of Pfizer's "Game-changing results" from the rigged mRNA trial. "On November 7, after the absentee ballots were counted, Joe Biden was declared the winner of the presidential election. It was the very next night that Albert Bourla, Pfizer's CEO, called me away from my neighbors' fire pit to inform me about the game-changing results from the Pfizer mRNA vaccine trial. I finally thought we had truly turned a corner in defeating this terrible disease." Today reports: In another interesting tidbit, Fauci discusses Trump's FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn declaring that he would not go along with the Trump Administration's plan to roll out the vac...
Post a Comment
Read more

Republicans Withdraw $1 Billion From BlackRock Due To Its ESG Policies

  Multiple U.S. states governed by Republicans are withdrawing state funds from BlackRock's management, as they disapprove of the ESG investment policies of the world's top asset manager, the Financial Times reports. In recent weeks, Louisiana, South Carolina, Utah, and Arkansas have announced they would divest funds from... For months now, Republican states have said they would not do business anymore with asset managers who have ESG-aligned investment policies, which, the states say, show that those financial firms are boycotting the oil and gas industry. Texas is leading the campaign against this movement The Lone Star State published a list of financial firms that could be banned from doing business with Texas, its state pension funds, and local governments. https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Republicans-Withdraw-1-Billion-From-BlackRock-Due-To-Its-ESG-Policies.html
Post a Comment
Read more

EU Ambassador & Munich Security Conference Chair Headline Chinese Communist Party Influence Event.

  The Vice Chairman of the Munich Security Conference and a former Ambassador of the European Union to the U.S. headlined an event sponsored by a leading Chinese Communist Party influence group The China-United States Exchange Foundation (CUSEF) CUSEF has been identified by the US government as part of China’s “United Front” which works “to co-opt and neutralize sources of potential opposition to the policies and authority of its ruling Communist Party.” O’Sullivan Director General of the Institute of International and European Affairs Has held a variety of influential positions within the European Union including Chief Operating Officer of the European External Action Service (EEAS) Ruge also has ties to the EU’s military infrastructure Vice Chairman of the Munich Security Conference https://thenationalpulse.com/2022/10/20/eu-amb-and-munich-chair-headline-cusef-webinar/
Post a Comment
Read more