someguy
Well-known member
So much of home price appreciation is simply inflation.
Compare
*real* (i.e. number minus inflation) residential property prices: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/graph/?g=n8TX
vs
*nominal* (i.e. just the number) residential property prices: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/QUSN628BIS
For the government to inflate the price of houses AND take a portion of the gain due to inflation they created seems immoral.
The $250k/$500k exemption is nice. It's a great start and probably covers a large portion of people when they have a gain on the sale of their primary residence. Exempting all of the gain that was due to inflation would be fair imo. Plus a bit more, because who doesn't like tax free gains, amirite?
It's fun to cheerlead for rising house prices, but when your house goes up 20% and so does your neighbors', it's not actually much to be excited about. Neither has made any progress. But you know who is excited about that? The county, because their property tax receipts go up. Banks obviously have no objection because higher prices mean higher mortgages and interest payments. State + Fed government don't mind because it can be a payday for them when you sell. Agents and brokers are happy to help sellers realize tax free gains (and a 4-5% transaction cost). I don't mean to be so cynical here, but I could understand if people pointed to this and felt like they were being fleeced.
Compare
*real* (i.e. number minus inflation) residential property prices: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/graph/?g=n8TX
vs
*nominal* (i.e. just the number) residential property prices: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/QUSN628BIS
For the government to inflate the price of houses AND take a portion of the gain due to inflation they created seems immoral.
The $250k/$500k exemption is nice. It's a great start and probably covers a large portion of people when they have a gain on the sale of their primary residence. Exempting all of the gain that was due to inflation would be fair imo. Plus a bit more, because who doesn't like tax free gains, amirite?
It's fun to cheerlead for rising house prices, but when your house goes up 20% and so does your neighbors', it's not actually much to be excited about. Neither has made any progress. But you know who is excited about that? The county, because their property tax receipts go up. Banks obviously have no objection because higher prices mean higher mortgages and interest payments. State + Fed government don't mind because it can be a payday for them when you sell. Agents and brokers are happy to help sellers realize tax free gains (and a 4-5% transaction cost). I don't mean to be so cynical here, but I could understand if people pointed to this and felt like they were being fleeced.