TZUTC: -0800   
   MSGID: 333.consprcy@1:218/1 2c21dcf4   
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   PID: Synchronet 3.20c-Win32 master/2a609bb22 Feb 15 2025 MSC 1942   
   TID: SBBSecho 3.23-Win32 master/2a609bb22 Feb 15 2025 MSC 1942   
   BBSID: REALITY   
   CHRS: CP437 2   
   -=> Rob Mccart wrote to MIKE POWELL <=-   
      
      
    RM> I don't know if it's universal but I believe you guys can write off   
    RM> your mortgage payments (or interest?) against your income at tax time   
    RM> which saves you a lot of money.   
      
   In the US, it's interest payments that are a tax deduction.   
      
    RM> Here our advantage is your *Principal* residence can be sold at a   
    RM> huge profit without any Capital Gains tax involved.   
      
   Yeah, that's where it gets muddy with short term and long term capital   
   gains - I think there's a loophole somewhere if you use the proceeds of   
   a primary residence to buy another primary residence.   
      
    RM> What they will probably do to lower prices is, cut immigration so   
    RM> there isn't as much os a shortage of housing, cut taxes or even give   
    RM> grants to builders putting up housing that will sell cheaper, which   
    RM> should force all prices down some, and they may come up with something   
    RM> like charging Capital Gains tax on, say, anything over $200,000, of   
    RM> profit you made when you sold your house, and use that money to   
    RM> encourage those lower cost builders (in a perfect world).   
      
   I'm pretty pessimistic about attempts to lower housing costs. The   
   administration has extending the 2017 tax cuts a priority, so cutting   
   taxes on the middle class would hamper that effort. Housing is a   
   high-stakes, high-income game, I don't know how popular a grant program   
   for market-rate housing would go.   
      
   With current income, you have people retiring with well paid-off   
   mortgages, and unfortunately quite a few people who'd take a haircut if   
   they sold because of either their existing mortgage or the current   
   rates. I refinanced at the bottom, I know I'm not making any lateral   
   moves!  :)   
      
   Once the market dips, then you have people underwater on their   
   mortgages. You may see people letting the banks forclose, causing more   
   uncertainty and instability in the market.   
      
   It's easy on the way up, difficult to bring prices back down.   
      
   Landlords aren't any better - rents are a trailing indicator. Around   
   here, it takes a long time for rents to start coming down, you'll see   
   landlords convinced that the apartment they rented for $2000, then   
   bumped the price up to $3200, is still worth that when the market cools.   
      
      
       
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