Property boom poses risk for national economies

[dArKeR]

The worldwide appetite for buying property, whether in Paris, Los Angeles, or Bangkok, is feeding a price bubble that could burst, causing havoc in national economies and a financial meltdown for heavily indebted homeowners.
Real-estate purchases have flourished with the ample flow of money from lenders, due to historic low interest rates and a shying-away from investing in the stock markets.

The level of interest rates on mortgage loans has been a veritable windfall for both individual homebuyers and property investors. Not only can they borrow more since mortgage payments are lighter, banks have also extended the time period for paying back the loan.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/worldbiz/archives/2005/06/22/2003260316

[Carolab]

1. Yup. Trying to float a sinking ship.

On edit: Still, no reason to invest in the stock market.

It seems that, sometimes, this bubble stuff comes from ? sources trying to steer people away from investing in Main Street instead of Wall Street.

[jmcon007]

2. I agree.....

I'm no economist, but it seems to me that something has got to give somewhere. Much of the mortgage lending is to people cashing the equity in their homes to pay huge credit card bills, etc. There's a lot of money moving around, but I don't believe it's in a positive way. Our national savings is dropping like a rock and when interest rates begin their upward climb, well....like I said, I'm no economist. But, it can't be good.

[dArKeR]

3. I swear to God! I just found out from reliable sources;

Drug dealer caught with a Meth Lab inside his rented house. Part of the settlement for his probation/DA deal was he MUST purchase a home and he did. His interest rate is high, his payments are so high he can hardly make them. (His kids and dogs seem to be enjoying the new home.) I swear to God!

[bemildred]

4. Gee, how could he make enough money to pay for that?

:banghead:

[dArKeR]

5. From the talk of the town, nobody can figure that out!

Dipping into a stashed drug slush fund (as the Bush Crime Family does) or forcing him to start another Meth lab to pay for a mortgage he can't afford. You choose!

In my opinion, our Fundimentalist Christian drug policy is actually stimulating drug use in America and the world. By making it illegal there is so much money to be made that it encourages importers, dealers, manufacturers... thus more is available thus more use is pushed on children and others creating a habit. If drugs were legal I feel 90% of the problem would evaporate overnight.

[bemildred]

6. Oh, yeah, it's an employment act for drug dealers.

Most street drugs are very cheap to make, the money all comes from the prohibition; we are spending BILLIONS to make sure that drug dealers make BILLIONS. It always amazes me how people who will babble on for hours about free-enterprise and the profit motive will NEVER make that connection to the illegal drug business. If the government REALLY wanted to stop the illegal drug business they would give guaranteed quality street drugs away to anyone who asked. The drug business would crash in a year or two, and then we could start over with education and treatment.

[SweetLeftFoot]

7. While I agree the WOD is vile

and wrong ... meth is probably the only "street drug" made in the US - or Oz, where I'm from.

Cocaine and heroin are manufactured overseas.

[bemildred]

8. You lost me.

I have no idea why you think that is relevant to what I said.

To be clear, as far as I know, I said nothing about where drugs are made, nor do I see how that relates to what I said.

But I can assure you that we make a variety of drugs here, and pot grows really well. You are correct about cocaine and smack, coke in particular. You can grow poppies here just fine, but nobody much does that.

Meth is about the ugliest stuff out there, maybe PCP too, but we've known that here since the 70s, when a lot of friends and aquaintances checked out after a short, wild ride shooting crank.

G'day mate.
:hi:

[SweetLeftFoot]

9. Yeah

Reading back on it,I don't think I really knew what I was trying to say either. Damn jet lag.