HOUSING: Reasons prices have escalated

Mr. Buley’s article described all the statistics detailing why folks here, and in most of the United States, cannot afford a house at today’s housing prices. What was not discussed was why housing prices have escalated so fast. I’d add the following to his article:

“Housing prices have gone up for many reasons including:

1) Single Family homes being acquired by investors who can depreciate their ‘investment’ and deduct all their expenses unlike an owner/occupant (would be easy to remedy this, just state that no Single Family Home gets any tax breaks not allowed to an owner occupied home).

2) Five million plus unexpected individuals added to the USA population in last three years all needing a place to live.

3) For Idaho, people moving here to find a house with a yard and garage when some states have eliminated single family zoning allowing six story apartments to be constructed next to single family homes making those homes far less likely to remain owner-occupied.

4) Trade Schools being denigrated and disparaged in our educational system, ‘college’ is the only road to success, which is untrue but at no point in the elementary or middle school public system does a student get any significant exposure to the trades. High School “Shop” etc. almost non-existent in many educational programs.

HOWARD BURNS

Post Falls