Taxachusetts

[HisArpy]

So this proposal would impose a fee of between $900 and $3,600 for sales of homes that are double the current median price of $590k. Seems reasonable to me.

Actually, the fact that they suggest applying the higher value of $1 mil or the county’s median value seems unreasonable. Rich people who live near other rich people get a lower assessment.

It's a home sales tax on money which is supposed to be exempt from taxation on property which is the seller's residence for the past 2 out of 5 years up to certain amounts. Calling it a fee doesn't change the nature of the tax.

Further, the seller is responsible for the tax even if they are no longer residents of the taxing district.

 

[Fuzzy1975]

Fortunately I’m not shopping for a mortgage but if I was I’d prefer as low a rate as possible. Monthly mortgage payments of $5K or more would tough for any homeowner, especially Gen Zers just starting out.

I never had a mortgage, I bought what I could afford, maybe Gen Z should learn to live within there means. My kids did, and funny they both own homes....

 

[BabyBoomer50s]

Rents will be increasing to change this.

Renting almost always costs more than buying. The difference is whether you have the price of admission to home ownership or not. If you don't, and choose to spend your money on dumb stuff instead of saving it for a down pmt, that's on you and not your landlord or the rest of society which can manage to do it.

Sure. But right now renting is cheaper than buying. Current mortgage rates are a big factor.

 

[HisArpy]

Sure. But right now renting is cheaper than buying. Current mortgage rates are a big factor.

True but it's a short sighted view with limited perspective.

Rents will go up before home mortgage costs come down and those who need to rent will be even further away from the American Dream unless wages go up to match. Which will drive mortgage costs back up, rents will go up even more, and all the other bills will absolutely go up too. And the renter will still only barely get by.

The real problem is stupid economists and those who listen to them. Every blasted one of them seems to think that if they stick their ignorant fingers into the economy and stir they can "fix" it. The reality is they only make it worse because the normal state of any economy is "poor." Look at history and you'll see what I mean, there are more down periods than boom periods and the down periods last a lot longer. It only seems like it's stable because the up/down swing isn't that dramatic but it's there.

Attempting to change that with artificial injections of stimulus cash or manipulating the interest rate only make things worse. The swing is larger and more costly when it changes and goes down. It then introduces more economic damage when it turns up because that instantly fuels major inflation spikes with each cycle being worse than the last.

The only way to stop it is to stop interfering with the economy completely. Which at this point we cannot do without crashing everything worldwide. And when you put all of that into the equation, renting is never going to be cheaper than buying no matter what the cost is.