I was trying to explain to DH what I think is going to happen with housing, owned and rental, in this current insanity. [View all]

I think he’s finally listening.

First, we’re deporting a lot of people. They all lived somewhere. Then there’s the number of people who are losing their jobs due to Douche. The tariffs are also going to force a lot of workplaces to close or cut way back because they can’t afford or simply can’t get the tools, parts or supplies they need to operate. We can't make them here without building the facilities that will need the imported machinery and supplies to get started and that process takes years anyway. More jobs lost.

People who aren’t working won’t be spending, so there goes retail. People who depend on Social Security and the other safety nets also won’t be spending. As retail fails, more jobs will be lost. People who lose their jobs often lose their homes. Go figure.

So, with a lot, and I mean a lot, of empty units, housing and real estate values are going to eventually plunge. Now the banks get involved. I remember this from the last recession. Your property goes underwater and you owe more than it’s actually worth. Often a lot more. They’ll start calling in the loans to be paid in full and when you can’t do that, they’ll foreclose.

And who can pay their loans in full at a moment’s notice? Our economic experts and entire economic structure insist that you be mortgaged to the hilt. You were supposed to buy or build the biggest house that anybody would loan you money to afford. (Hello, McMansion!) Same with cars. No debt, no credit rating. And I’ve personally sat through 401k investment meetings where the speaker told us it was crazy to spend money paying down debt when you should be investing it instead. One stopped me personally after the meeting because I’d stopped paying in and I pleasantly told him that none of his funds were paying anywhere near the interest on my loans. I was actually money ahead paying off my debt. He smiled and walked on. Research is a bitch.

Of course, now the stock market is tanking. Goodbye, 401k. At least it wasn’t a lot of money.

All of these foreclosed homes? Now empty. And we take another circle around the drain. Rinse, repeat.

I think we’re headed for a full-fledged depression, lasting a number of years. I hope I’m wrong.