Re: Why bailing out housing market is a very bad idea
No to both, why should anyone get bailed out of a decision they made themselves?
I suppose it depends on if you consider home buyers had a real choice in the matter.
I know the dilema young people faced. The felt compelled to buy at ongoing market rates for fear of being priced out of owning their own home forever. Thats a dilema. I bet plenty of people posting on this thread paid over the odds for their houses.
Lets say you paid 300,000 for something that went up to 600,000. Doesent mean youre the clever one. Doesent meant you avoided the mistake of the person who bought at the top. In my opinion a 50% drop in the market value still leaves your 300,000 house overvalued.
I met people 7 years ago waiting for the crash which didnt come only to jump in 5 years ago and pay more for their cautiousness. Where was their choice.
Dont call it charity...
Now who made the most money out of the boom. Theres the landowners, the builder, the banks, the solicitors,.... and most of all there's the Government. Their hand was out at every turn. I've heard it said that when every tax, by what ever name it went under, was included that every third house built goes in tax for the government. Thats 33% of the seling price.
Heres some of the taxes. .
40% tax on the profit made from rezoning development land.
13.5% Vat on building costs
Employment taxes whilst building.
9% stamp duty on site costs.
up to 9% stamp duty on house purchase
tax on the builders profits.
planning application costs.
21% vat on all building services employed (engineers, etc)
local government costs (typically nowadays around 25,000 per house)
State owned monopoly costs (eg 36,000 to reroute three telegraph poles) on a building site.
and so on.
The Government taxed the land owners profits, the builders profits, and the purchaser. But ultimately it is the last link in the chain who pays everyones tax bill - ie is the home owner who pays the entire tax bill for all.
Since the Government made 33% out of homeowners on the way up I'd say there is strong arguement for putting some of that 33% back to the homeowner if they fall in to trouble.
I wouldnt call it 'bailing out'.