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Benjamin Cole's avatar

OT but...housing still driving inflation.

https://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.nr0.htm

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Dave Stuhlsatz's avatar

Curious about your thoughts on the proposed Fannie/Freddie merger & privatization. If it were to happen, it seems like a lateral move to me in terms of total loan originations, sales, and production.

Any efficiency gains would get scooped up in the form of higher margins for loan bundlers.

Also, I think your language is too nice when you say "...the bribe we pay to the land." I consider it more of an extortion racket run by incumbent property owners (like us) that is imposed on the next generation of buyers.

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Kevin Erdmann's avatar

I agree with you. My guess is it will be a meaningless movement of assets on and off government books with little effect on mortgage markets, at least in the short term. Trump will make a big show of making a deal.

I'm tickled that you found that language too nice, because I was trying to be a bit rhetorically sharp. lol

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Dave's avatar
Aug 12Edited

Biden opened our borders to millions of illegal immigrants who now compete for jobs and housing with American citizens. What the fuck would anyone expect the outcome to be anything other than higher housing costs?

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Benjamin Cole's avatar

I totally support legal immigration, on terms approved by voters.

Yes, evidently about 10 million people crossed into the US illegally during the Biden Administration. Given that the Trump Administration has reduced that flow to a trickle within months...one must assume the policy of the Biden Administration was to promote illegal immigration.

The US has criminalized housing construction.

The results are what they are.

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