Worried about government run health insurance? Maybe you should be more concerned about the government run housing market!
For those of you who have lost track of where all our taxpayer dollars have gone as we bailout banks, brokerage houses, car companies, insurance companies…etc—-this sobering statistic courtesy of the New York Times may be a needed splash of chilled water on the face: “The government is financing 9 out of 10 new mortgages in the United States.”
That bears repeating……”The government (as in U.S.) is financing 9 out of 10 new mortgages in the United States.”
According to the Times account, ” Fannie (Mae) and Freddie (Mac) now buy or guarantee almost two-thirds of all new mortgages. The Federal Housing Administration guarantees another 25 percent.”
The importance of these figures should be obvious.
To what ever degree we read about a slight “recovery” in the real estate market, it is worth keeping in mind that it is an artificial recovery. Without the federal government, there would likely be not even the sliver of a recovery!
And, that means, when one wants to make real estate investments, it would be a smart idea to factor in to the equation what I will call the “F” factor—”F” for feds, though some of you more lewd types may want to substitute a different word here?
You must always ask yourself—is this particular neighborhood really turning the corner and, therefore, is it a good area to invest in, or is it an illusion–smoke and mirrors provided by Uncle Sam?
Article Author:
Charles FeldmanCharles has written 149 articles for us.
Visit Charles's Website: http://www.thefeldmanblog.com
Charles is currently reporting for KNX Radio in Los Angeles, is the co-author of the book No Time To Think, and can be found commenting about the news on his blog, The Feldman Blog.
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