Should the Mortgage Interest Tax Deduction be Repealed?

[Ultrarunner]

Originally Posted by freemkt

Sure, rents can (theoretically) go down, but how often does that happen? (Rents are going up in my area.)

I just lowered mine for April occupancy... there is a glut on the market right now and many in the area have housing assistance and those with assistance can take their portable housing voucher and rent a 5 year old home for 1900 month in another city... why would they want to rent my 50 year old home for $1200 when the rent they pay out of pocket is the same for both homes...

[texdav]

Bascially where I live there is a shortage of rental and has been for years as far as houses.

[Ultrarunner]

I'm seeing a lot of movement into the suburbs from the older city housing stock. Never seen it in my 30 years.

Some of the nearby 5 to 6 year old subdivision in the outlying areas have been very hard hit and often there will be upwards of 30% of the homes or more that went through foreclosure.

Case in point, a family with a Section 8 Voucher just moved into a 3 bedroom 3 bath home with 3 car garage and outdoor fountain, stainless appliances and stone finishes for $1950 a month... their old home in the city was $1400 and had two bathroom and a two car garage.

The only downfall is the commute to where the jobs are can be a real bear and expensive from the outlying areas... not a problem if you have a Section 8/Voucher... good just about anywhere in the country.

The end game is to later sell for a profit when the market improves... till then, the $1950 will carry the property.

The mortgage deduction doesn't come into the picture with rental property because interest is a legit deduction against income.

50% of the homes in these areas are being bought with cash.

[shaker281]

Originally Posted by eggalegga

My point exactly! I don't have kids, I'm a homeowner and the majority of my property taxes go towards school districts. I think Utah has the lowest per pupil spending ratio in the nation and parents are crying that we're not spending enough to educate their kids. Well, I don't see any of them giving up any of their child tax credits to fund the over burdened education system here. Yet there have been rumblings that some parents wouldn't mind paying higher property taxes to increase per pupil spending. Unfortunately, a property tax increase doesn't just impact parents. Why should I have to give up the one tax credit I get to claim for being a homeowner?

You might've missed my point. I was being somewhat tongue in cheek. Really trying to point out that all exemptions/credits/deductions are aimed at special interest groups. It is hard to argue that someone should give up theirs while I keep mine.

The real question is whether encouraging home ownership has a greater value to the country or whether subsidizing schooling has a net positive impact on society.

[le roi]

Originally Posted by freemkt

Sure, rents can (theoretically) go down, but how often does that happen? (Rents are going up in my area.)

How often? I don't know. If you're a Baby Boomer, most of your adult life has been spent in an inflationary economic environment, with perpetually increasing levels of private debt (and therefore wages, rents), so it wouldn't be common. It is clear that this process has been halted, and will be stopped for some period of time. We don't really know what things will look like from here on out, but I think that America from 1950 to the present does not constitute the entirety of global economic history, and that long-term deflation is a problem that other modern economies have dealt with.

where i live -- around 08, rental rates dropped sharply, while real estate sales dropped off a cliff.... but real estate prices stayed high, falling only very slightly between 08 and 09. The mood among developers, builders, agents, homeowners, was to ignore the hard questions about primary and secondary mortgage markets, labor markets and wages, etc., and remain optimistic.

by late 2010-2011, rents had found a bottom, maybe even risen slightly off that bottom, and real estate sales followed the same trend (risen slightly from their bottom)... but real estate prices had begun a very sharp decline, still in search of a bottom... and are currently sliding. I'm looking for a place to live as we speak --- and for the first time in years, buying is cheaper than renting in my area.