[extropy-chat] Housing bubble looking good

[Russell Wallace]

On 3/9/06, "Hal Finney" <hal at finney.org> wrote:
>
> The overall message from the Times poll was very encouraging, if we
> believe in this methodology.  Contrary to the doomsayers who get so
> much publicity, the consensus opinion among homeowners and potential
> homebuyers is that housing prices will continue to rise, probably at a
> more moderate rate.  Good news.
>

I'm curious - why do you call it good news? Granted if you yourself own a
house it is good for you personally, but overall, inflated house prices are
a negative-sum game, an artificial scarcity that transfers money from some
people to other people while harming society as a whole. (It is true that
high house prices are correlated with general economic growth, but this is
as an effect rather than a cause.)

- Russell
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