Winners & Losers in Real Estate Melt-Down

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that “Existing-home sales rose 5.1% in February, climbing above expectations, but prices plunged again.”

I was one of those folks who closed on a house in February. Indeed, we’ll be moving from Carson City to Las Vegas next week. And here’s the thing: The only way we were able to afford the house we purchased was because PRICES PLUNGED. Duh.

Home prices for the last several years were artificially high, keeping many potential home owners in apartments and rental houses. While so many politicians continue to cry crocodile tears for speculators and others who bought more house than they could afford, let’s celebrate the fact that a whole army of new home owners who have been frozen out of the market for so long are finally realizing their own dream of home ownership.