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I've never seen any policy actions in the US that indicate housing is supposed to be affordable. There's a whole bunch of talk and politicians largely proclaimi

I've never seen any policy actions in the US that indicate housing is supposed to be affordable. There's a whole bunch of talk and politicians largely proclaiming how their going to solve things, but I've never seen it play out. A few areas have rent control, that's about it.

mellavora 4y ago
Well, there was the GI bill... And HUD https://www.hud.gov/topics/rental_assistance/phprog https://www.hud.gov/topics/rental_assistance/phprog
- dwater 4y ago
  To be fair, the GI bill was originally passed in 1944 and HUD was created in 1965, so the GP's statement "I've never seen any policy actions in the US that indicate housing is supposed to be affordable" could still hold true for anyone under 57.
spicyusername 4y ago
Its been a pretty big focus since at least the Reagan era, actually. As the post-WWII boom came to an end, many past presidents viewed home ownership as the primary pathway to being "middle-class" and made it a focus. Bill Clinton, in particular, made increasing home-ownership a primary objective of his presidency [1]. Unfortunately, many of the Clinton-era policies, however well intentioned, ended up making homes less affordable due to greatly increasing demand for homes (by making it easier for more people to get mortgages), without increasing housing supply. 1: http://www.4president.org/issues/clinton1996/clinton1996housing.htm http://www.4president.org/issues/clinton1996/clinton1996hous...
- sidewndr46 4y ago
  Sure, as have many other presidents. But what policy changes actually lead to an increase in home affordability?
  - spicyusername 4y ago
    Skimming the FRED data [1], we've had lots of ups and downs since the 60's, but are basically flat since 1980. It does look like Clinton's policies had an effect, but mostly to cause a small boom / bust cycle. The entire graph only takes place between 63% and 69%, so not that big of a change. The Clinton-era policies did seem reverse the trend in the 80s, so that's something. Hard to say if post-pandemic inflation will disrupt that though. 1: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/RHORUSQ156N https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/RHORUSQ156N
    - sidewndr46 4y ago
      That chart says "The homeownership rate is the proportion of households that is owner-occupied." Affordability does not mean "owner occupied". People who mortgage 99% of the value of a home count under that category. Having a mortgage that will take you the rest of your adult life to payoff is not affordable under any real use of the word.

mellavora 4y ago

Well, there was the GI bill... And HUD https://www.hud.gov/topics/rental_assistance/phprog https://www.hud.gov/topics/rental_assistance/phprog

dwater 4y ago
To be fair, the GI bill was originally passed in 1944 and HUD was created in 1965, so the GP's statement "I've never seen any policy actions in the US that indicate housing is supposed to be affordable" could still hold true for anyone under 57.

spicyusername 4y ago

Its been a pretty big focus since at least the Reagan era, actually. As the post-WWII boom came to an end, many past presidents viewed home ownership as the primary pathway to being "middle-class" and made it a focus. Bill Clinton, in particular, made increasing home-ownership a primary objective of his presidency [1]. Unfortunately, many of the Clinton-era policies, however well intentioned, ended up making homes less affordable due to greatly increasing demand for homes (by making it easier for more people to get mortgages), without increasing housing supply. 1: http://www.4president.org/issues/clinton1996/clinton1996housing.htm http://www.4president.org/issues/clinton1996/clinton1996hous...

sidewndr46 4y ago
Sure, as have many other presidents. But what policy changes actually lead to an increase in home affordability?
- spicyusername 4y ago
  Skimming the FRED data [1], we've had lots of ups and downs since the 60's, but are basically flat since 1980. It does look like Clinton's policies had an effect, but mostly to cause a small boom / bust cycle. The entire graph only takes place between 63% and 69%, so not that big of a change. The Clinton-era policies did seem reverse the trend in the 80s, so that's something. Hard to say if post-pandemic inflation will disrupt that though. 1: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/RHORUSQ156N https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/RHORUSQ156N
  - sidewndr46 4y ago
    That chart says "The homeownership rate is the proportion of households that is owner-occupied." Affordability does not mean "owner occupied". People who mortgage 99% of the value of a home count under that category. Having a mortgage that will take you the rest of your adult life to payoff is not affordable under any real use of the word.