alt Hacker News> If you buy a house for $400k, and suddenly it is worth $300k, you don't need to be "bailed out" for your purchase decision...we shouldn't be bailing out speeculators
When the speculators vote, yes, you need to bail out the speculators.
> It's called buyer's remorse
It's called building consensus. At the end of the day, if it costs making homeowners whole to gain their buy in to solve the housing crisis, that's money well spent.
I'm not saying what I'm proposing is fair or even palatable. But it's functional. If solving the housing crisis is more important than aesthetics, it's a good move.
I agree there are political considerations, but we are talking about a scenario where the only damage done is that the buyer must continue to live in the home they purchased at the price they purchased it for, and where the recipient of government benefits is a household capable of purchasing a house, presumably at the height of the market. Is a tax dollar better spent placating grumpy homeowners who already have a place to live they can afford, or by more directly building more housing and infrastructure?