Ben Carson has joined the Committee to Re-Inflate the Housing Bubble.
The Trump administration is vastly expanding the scope of condominium purchases eligible for lower-down-payment loans.
The move, to be announced Wednesday by the Federal Housing Administration, could help revive the entry-level condo market for first-time buyers because FHA-backed loans require only a 3.5% down payment and lower credit score than conventional loans.
It also loosens financial-crisis-era rules and could expose the government to a higher probability of loan default if the housing market continues to slow and prices fall.
Let’s review some headlines: inverted yield curve, the Fed already acting like we’re in a recession, apparently endless if desultory trade war under way, etc. Stocks are all over the place, but it’s not just stocks. From the Wall Street Journal:
The Merrill Lynch Move Index, which measures volatility in government bonds, has jumped about 43% this month, FactSet data through Friday show. Measures of currency volatility and oil-market swings through the Cboe/CME FX Yen Volatility Index and Cboe Crude Oil ETF Volatility Index also have risen in August. The currency volatility gauge last Monday hit the highest level since early January.
Unpredictable economic weather: What better time to put the American taxpayer on the hook for a brand new batch of dodgy condo loans for some scrubs with bad credit who can’t be bothered to save up a proper down payment?
Everybody makes mistakes. Making the same mistake over and over again is stupidity. Being stupid with other people’s money over and over again is politics.