the whole post was nonsense.

"The evil boomers are too greedy to sell. let us have a chance!"

as YouBet alluded to, realtors don't make any money when homes don't trade. The idea that there's some vast conspiracy to keep prices high (and therefore no activity) is silly.

MAS444 said:

---

Quote:

---

A lot of this is realtors too, trying to pump up commissions for themselves.

---

What does this mean? A house is worth what the market says it's worth.

---

Realtors sunshine pumping the housing market and how houses are always good investments.

That's how a friend got got. "Buy this house, put X into it, and it will be worth (huge profit)."

He's down on it, easily.

The home ownership graph below is contrary to my perception of the past, specifically before 1960 or so. I thought that back in those times even, say, a cook in a local diner could afford to buy a house. And now of course it would be difficult in a major city for someone running the kitchen shift at Chili's to buy a home. However, that graph says my perception would be incorrect. I also thought that prior to 1950 or so more Americans lived in small towns, what we would say is rural now, and there has been a been migration to urban areas. I would assume that would hurt affordability for average households, but again the graph doesn't support my perception.

Complete Idiot said:

---

The home ownership graph below is contrary to my perception of the past, specifically before 1960 or so. I thought that back in those times even, say, a cook in a local diner could afford to buy a house. And now of course it would be difficult in a major city for someone running the kitchen shift at Chili's to buy a home. However, that graph says my perception would be incorrect. I also thought that prior to 1950 or so more Americans lived in small towns, what we would say is rural now, and there has been a been migration to urban areas. I would assume that would hurt affordability for average households, but again the graph doesn't support my perception.

---

Interesting data. Thanks for posting.

As an anecdotal data point, my grandparents (who were in the generation that preceded the "Greatest Generation"), almost always lived in rented, furnished homes. One set never bought their own home, even though they could easily have afforded it, and the other purchased only when the permanently retired and moved back to Texas.

Home ownership as the norm for most people is a relatively recent phenomenon known mainly in the US. In Europe, most people rent other than own.

Also, a Dallas realtor told me a few years back that prior to WW II, home values tended to decline over time just as with cars today. People wanted a new home, not a used home.

Apparently, what changed everything after World War 2 was the adoption of the GI Bill that subsidized mortgages for veterans (millions of men) and the creation of the 30-year mortgage with low down payments.

I think homes values tended to stay fairly flat and didn't go nuts until after WWII, but they didn't depreciate like cars.

The land is what appreciates.

I agree with Dave Ramsey's sentiments from December and, fortunately, Trump has taken steps to remediate this:
"When the basic use of a single-family home is for a family to get a toehold in the marketplace and to build wealth and to have a stable place to live, when that's being affected by foreign organizations and by out of control capitalism, then yeah, you got to put some limits on that," Ramsey said. "Some kind of a stoppage, stop that."

Ramsey also says the feds need to raise the capital gains exemptions immediately from $500K to $1,000,000 to add inventory and drive prices down. He said many older homeowners want to sell but are clinging to their properties because they don't want to pay large tax bills to the government, which is totally understandable.

Learned something new. Didn't realize there was a max to tax exemption on profit when selling a home.

Pissing off the neighbors by selling the house sounds like a potentially good story, so let's hear it.

I Am A Critic said:

---

YouBet said:

---

MAS444 said:

---

Quote:

---

A lot of this is realtors too, trying to pump up commissions for themselves.

---

What does this mean? A house is worth what the market says it's worth.

---

I would assume he's suggesting that realtors are inflating above the general buyer's willingness to pay to maximize their commissions. This would suggest that the realtor is not desperate enough to need money themselves, or some has other reason as to why they don't want to price it to sell.

---

Most realtors are idiots. Anyone with an Office Depot business card, Glamour Shot, and IG account can do it these days. I wonder how many are actually making a living.

---

I saw a stat the other day that 71% of licensed realtors did not sell a home in 2025. I could dig it out but I am running in no sleep so can't force myself to make the effort.

Eta that obviously includes people that have a license and aren't active so the actual amount is less, and I am sure some realtors only help on the buy side, but still.

Sea Speed said:

---

Pissing off the neighbors by selling the house sounds like a potentially good story, so let's hear it.

---

I'll post when we get to that point. Actually, having a conversation with them today about dropping the price. I've made them drop it once already because they had it WAY overpriced out of the gate.

KingofHazor said:

---

Maroon Elephant said:

---

I agree with Dave Ramsey's sentiments from December and, fortunately, Trump has taken steps to remediate this:
"When the basic use of a single-family home is for a family to get a toehold in the marketplace and to build wealth and to have a stable place to live, when that's being affected by foreign organizations and by out of control capitalism, then yeah, you got to put some limits on that," Ramsey said. "Some kind of a stoppage, stop that."

Ramsey also says the feds need to raise the capital gains exemptions immediately from $500K to $1,000,000 to add inventory and drive prices down. He said many older homeowners want to sell but are clinging to their properties because they don't want to pay large tax bills to the government, which is totally understandable.

---

I wonder how many houses that are sold each year have a capital gain between $500K - $1 million? My guess is that it's not that many and certainly not enough to "drive prices down" if the exemption was increased.

---

Im assuming homes in affluent areas across the country that were purchased 25 years ago by the current resident. In DFW I'd say examples are Highland Park, Southlake, Westlake. Boston, NY, parts of ATL, anywhere in California, Denver, etc.

Maroon Elephant said:

---

KingofHazor said:

---

Maroon Elephant said:

---

I agree with Dave Ramsey's sentiments from December and, fortunately, Trump has taken steps to remediate this:
"When the basic use of a single-family home is for a family to get a toehold in the marketplace and to build wealth and to have a stable place to live, when that's being affected by foreign organizations and by out of control capitalism, then yeah, you got to put some limits on that," Ramsey said. "Some kind of a stoppage, stop that."

Ramsey also says the feds need to raise the capital gains exemptions immediately from $500K to $1,000,000 to add inventory and drive prices down. He said many older homeowners want to sell but are clinging to their properties because they don't want to pay large tax bills to the government, which is totally understandable.

---

I wonder how many houses that are sold each year have a capital gain between $500K - $1 million? My guess is that it's not that many and certainly not enough to "drive prices down" if the exemption was increased.

---

Im assuming homes in affluent areas across the country that were purchased 25 years ago by the current resident. In DFW I'd say examples are Highland Park, Southlake, Westlake. Boston, NY, parts of ATL, anywhere in California, Denver, etc.

---

Sold our house in north Dallas for $300k more than we bought it 8 years later. Those cap gains will be easy to hit over 25 years. Our first house in East Dallas that we purchased in 2007 for $400k is now on tax rolls for $1M and it's in a neighborhood with quite constrained building rules so that's a $600k increase in 18 years. That house is 91 years old.

Yep, but nationwide the number of houses with cap gains of >$500k is not enough to move the market on number of houses available. Texas is a unique market and even in Texas the vast majority of homes aren't worth more than $500k.

KingofHazor said:

---

Yep, but nationwide the number of houses with cap gains of >$500k is not enough to move the market on number of houses available. Texas is a unique market and even in Texas the vast majority of homes aren't worth more than $500k.

---

I get that. Was just pointing out that I think some markets, like Dallas, have more homes >$500k cap gains than we even think. You might be hard pressed not to find massive appreciation anywhere inside 635 that isn't a known low-income neighborhood.

OK, but what's your point?

Are you advocating for a change in national tax policy based on one relatively small submarket?

I'm not trying to argue, but rather truly to understand your point.

KingofHazor said:

---

OK, but what's your point?

Are you advocating for a change in national tax policy based on one relatively small submarket?

I'm not trying to argue, but rather truly to understand your point.

---

Well, I wasn't really making a larger policy point with that. Just pointing out this appreciation likely includes more areas in Dallas than some might think.

DR Horton is actually selling small starter homes for 170,000 today North of Houston. Small, 800 sf, 2 bed/1 bath homes with no garage. I've seen similar sized new homes on 290 outside Austin.

I think we will start seeing more of the sub 1,000 sq ft, sub 200,000 starter houses. On 35 and 40 ft frontage lots.

ETA I see Lennar with new homes in Huffman starting at 133k for 1,000 sq ft.

YouBet said:

---

Well, I wasn't really making a larger policy point with that. Just pointing out this appreciation likely includes more areas in Dallas than some might think.

---

Gotcha.

Mas89 said:

---

DR Horton is actually selling small starter homes for 170,000 today North of Houston. Small, 800 sf, 2 bed/1 bath homes with no garage. I've seen similar sized new homes on 290 outside Austin.

I think we will start seeing more of the sub 1,000 sq ft, sub 200,000 starter houses. On 35 and 40 ft frontage lots.

ETA I see Lennar with new homes in Huffman starting at 133k for 1,000 sq ft.

---

It's crazy to me that less than a decade ago I bought a 3000 SQ ft house in a great neighborhood waking distance to one of the better elementary schools for$100000 more than that

Mas89 said:

---

DR Horton is actually selling small starter homes for 170,000 today North of Houston. Small, 800 sf, 2 bed/1 bath homes with no garage. I've seen similar sized new homes on 290 outside Austin.

I think we will start seeing more of the sub 1,000 sq ft, sub 200,000 starter houses. On 35 and 40 ft frontage lots.

ETA I see Lennar with new homes in Huffman starting at 133k for 1,000 sq ft.

---

Building tiny overpriced junk at historic highs is always a recipe for future slums.

We've never had a supply problem. We've always had a money supply and price problem that happened to coincide with an illegal immigration problem. We are going to be far oversupplied in the next 5-10 years. Already are in multifamily in the sun belt.

There may not be a supply problem in Texas, but there is definitely a supply problem in many blue states. That supply problem is caused by excessive regulations that dramatically slow down or actually prevent any new construction.

KingofHazor said:

---

There may not be a supply problem in Texas, but there is definitely a supply problem in many blue states. That supply problem is caused by excessive regulations that dramatically slow down or actually prevent any new construction.

---

Sure. But those areas are also full of boomers that will be exiting their homes one way or the other over the coming years to decade. We are overbuilding low quality junk in far out suburbs at price extremes. These will all mostly be dumps in 25 years, not the communities that last over time.