[aplomb]

One angle to make housing affordable is to outlaw mortgage products beyond 15 years (along with ARMs), require 20% down, and eliminate the tax deduction on interest - of course you can't do this overnight.

Housing is a basic necessity and we need to get the rampant speculation and financialization out - we're all stuck in this game of musical houses waiting for the music to stop.

[sokoloff]

I believe that would decrease upward financial mobility. It still might be a good idea, but that would be a dramatic drag on home buying, which means anyone who currently owns rental property would see a sustainable uptick in demand, keeping a lot of middle class from ever leaving the world of renting.

Mortgage interest deduction being eliminated for owner-occupied housing I would support a transition to. Loan interest for business expenses [to include a loan secured by property, aka a "mortgage"] should continue to be a valid business deduction, meaning that renters would live in buildings that had tax deductible mortgage interest while owner-occupants wouldn't. If you're trying to pull the tax support for house prices, this won't entirely do it. I strongly oppose taking away business loan interest deductions as that harms a LOT of businesses.

I don't see anything wrong with ARMs. Most of Europe has ARMs as the standard/normal mortgage product. Interest-only, NINJA/liar loans, ARMs with introductory discounted rates are more problematic, but there's nothing wrong with a mortgage being adjustable, IMO.