On Fri, 6 Feb 2009 08:11:40 -0800 (PST), Frogwatch
wrote:

Home ownership isn’t always a good thing, especially when it ties
someone to low paying jobs preventing him from moving for a better
job. The American dream of home ownership was pushed by Barney Frank
et al by making it possible for low income Americans to qualify for
low down payment or zero initial interest loans but this turned out to
be no favor to these people. Low income people should be free to move
around to get better jobs and eventually they will move up to higher
pay and be able to afford a home.
For example, right now, the US overall unemployment rate is 7.6% with
over 10% in Mi. yet it is only 3.8% in WY where it is still hard to
get even unskilled labor. Many of the jobs in WY are oil, gas and
coal jobs that pay well even for unskilled workers and although these
jobs will only last as long as this fuels boom, by that time these
people will be skilled enough to get jobs elsewhere and be able to buy
homes.
How do I know this will work, personal experience, it is exactly what
I did in the early 80s. Nobody should buy a home until they are
really ready to settle down and have the financial ability to pay for
it the conventional way. We put off buying until our first chilled
was 2. Having a kid did not settle us down or slow us down but buying
a home certainly did.
Home ownership is not for low income unsettled people so Frank et. al
should stop pushing it on them.

Good points. But historically when you've got an adequate job it's
generally been better to buy a home than to rent.
The recent past with inflated home prices and trick loans has been an
exception.
I'd venture to guess that health insurance prevents mobility in jobs
more than owning a home does.

--Vic