EXPLAINED: Why Idaho Housing Costs are Ballooning

Idaho isn’t alone when it comes to housing costs that seem to be spiraling out of control.  Check out this link from the Washington Post.  Nationally, rental costs are up almost 15 percent.  I experience a roughly 10 percent increase every year.  In some hotspots across the country, the increase is a stunning 40 percent.  Working men and women are being priced out of the market.  As well as disabled older veterans.  You can read about the latter happening right here in Idaho by clicking here.

We Need to Build More Homes

The most oft-cited explanation I come across is that we simply don’t have enough houses and apartments.  Labor and supply shortages are said to be holding back new construction.  During the 2008 economic meltdown, it was said there was a glut of homes.  Many people found they could no longer afford their mortgages or that they were “underwater”.  Which meant they owed more money than their property was worth.

Corporate Housing is the Future

Eventually, many escaped their dire predicament because investors realized they could pick up properties for a song (or even bid high) as a long-range investment.  Now, some entire neighborhoods are corporate entities and the dream of owning your own home becomes an increasingly distant memory.

Call it the Great Reset

The British comedian Russell Brand has become somewhat of an investigative reporter.  Mr. Brand is an unabashed liberal and, yet.  He would agree with conservative Glenn Beck's warning about something called the Great Reset.  You can hear Brand’s breakdown by clicking this link.  I caution that some of his words are strong but his research is sound.