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Moving Up to a Rental

Posted by: Nate Berg

11 December 2009 - 5:00am

Former homeowners forced out of their houses are becoming renters. It seems to be a good thing for them -- and the economy.

In Palmdale, California, former homeowners have been able to find homes for rent that are not only cheaper than their former homes, but also better.

"People's increasing willingness to abandon their own piece of America illustrates a paradoxical change wrought by the housing bust: Even as it tarnishes the near-sacred image of home ownership, it might be clearing the way for an economic recovery.

Thanks to a rare confluence of factors -- mortgages that far exceed home values and bargain-basement rents -- a growing number of families are concluding that the new American dream home is a rental."

Full Story: American Dream 2: Default, Then Rent
Source: The Wall Street Journal, December 10, 2009
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Fascinating insight...

Submitted by JayinPortland on Fri, 12/11/2009 - 08:01.

Fascinating insight into The Wall Street Journal's worldview. Seems they believe the only thing we should have learned from the past few decades is what? Exurban McMansion developments for car commuters 2 hours outside of Los Angeles are still "all good", as long as they're rentals?

Huh?

Submitted by Ricardo on Fri, 12/11/2009 - 09:44.

The article didn't really comment on the value of suburban homes versus urban homes at all... it did mention Palmdale to give the article some context. The folks mentioned in the article went from one area to Palmdale of the other and from owning to renting. Hard to see how that paints the WSJ's view as suburban homes are good as long as they're rentals. It's really a financial newspaper, and the people profiled likely made the best financial decision available to them, as walking away from a crushing mortgage debt and renting a better place for less money makes a whole lot of sense. In most places in CA, renting makes more financial sense than owning (even with the massive subsidy our government provides for homeownership).

That's why...

Submitted by JayinPortland on Fri, 12/11/2009 - 10:12.

I said it provided "an insight into their worldview". If the angle they chose to go with 'to provide context' was Palmdale, well there you go.

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