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Vacancy Rates Hit New Record
You probably heard it here first, but you shouldn't have. The rental vacancy rate jumped 0.5 percentage points in the third quarter, while the vacancy rate for ownership units edged up 0.1 percentage point. The long and short is that we have never had such a large glut of housing.
The folks in Congress are giving people $8,000 to increase the rental vacancy rate (i.e. buy a home). Of course this will lead to lower rents, which could cause other potential homeowners to rent rather than own. It may also cause some landlords to convert their rental units into condos. In other words, this is really silly housing market policy.
But hey, it's just $8,000 and it's not like we're giving it to families to pay for their kids' health care or food or anything.
--Dean Baker
COMMENTS (6)
In a country where so many people are homeless, it is downright bizarre to say we have a housing glut. What we really have is income inequality on a scale we haven't seen in almost 100 years.
Posted by: libhomo | October 29, 2009 10:02 PM
1. I read it (with lovely charts) on Calculated Risk, and yes, it is a silly policy, but withrealtors are big in every suburban district. Even anti-stimulus types like Johnnie Isaakson (Senator, Republican, Georgia, and former realtor) and Eric Congress, Republican, Virginia, minority whip. Spending on the rich is always good. It is the spending on the poor and middle class that is Fiscally reckless and corrupts the morals of the masses. Adversity improves our character if it does not kill us seems to be the thinking of the John Galts in our elite.
2. Paul Krugman points out that was just about 3.5 percent was the long term growth of the economy from 1945 to 2000. He was not enthusiastic. Secretary Geithner is happy however, since the 8,000 tax credit is just one of the policies that is making the banks solvent again, as various ingenious ways are being used to transfer money from us to them.
Posted by: Rick Kane | October 29, 2009 10:27 PM
At last we have some homes for the homeless! We can implement the Nancy Reagan cure for homelessness: Just get a house.
;)
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it is downright bizarre to say we have a housing glut. What we really have is income inequality on a scale we haven't seen in almost 100 years.
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