Regarding fair housing, if the prospective purchaser has been approved for the loan, then the developer can’t deny them (simple version). Only some buyers finance through the developer, and in those cases the developer would be at fault for lending with ridiculously low standards.

As a side note: a liberal democrat thinks the Senate health care bill should be passed and signed by Obama like ASAP. Never mind the serious capitulations made to the private health care insurance and Big Pharma industries. A Social Democrat (Progressive) believes in a nationalized health care system similar to what exists in Canada or the UK. I am sending letters to Mikulski and Cardin to oppose this bill.

I beg to differ about the yuppies not hurting. Ask anyone who bought condos in Silver Spring during the height of the bubble, how much the value of their property has dropped. Furthermore, they are stuck in their condo until the real estate market picks up again. See how that sucks for them!

I also think the real estate developer can say NO to a prospective low-income buyer. According to the supposed RATIONAL market system, the developer cannot make a sale to someone who does not have means to make a home purchase. Of course, we know the market system encountered an EPIC FAILURE when the mortgage lenders and banks decided to rig the game. Correct me if am wrong, but I thought Fair Housing laws dealt specifically with race, gender and age–not socio-economic status.

I’m a die hard liberal Democrat, but there are a few good lines from Reagan worth quoting. In this case, as I shake my head side to side I quote “There you go again….”.

Real estate is cyclical and this low cycle too shall end, albeit more slowly than those int the past. With most developers it’s (usually) not greed, it’s profit. IHY, if you want to vent your anger, it should be at the lending institutions who f’d the country by loaning trillions of dollars to lower income renters who should have NEVER been buying houses because they didn’ thave the income or qualifications. That fueled hyper demand and hyper price inflation. A developer certainly can’t say no to those people when they were buying…it would be against Fair Housing laws.

While you laugh at the deep slump in the real estate market, the real victims aren’t the yuppies or the “greedy” develolpers, but the millions of working class people who are jobless because the yuppies you hate aren’t buying from or supporting the businesses that construct, manage and operate the housing you think should not cost more.

And finally, unless you want a socialist society and government you will always pay more to live in the center of a developed urban area with public transportation. No, it’s not fair, but the alternative is not the rosy picture you believe it to be.

Housing and rental costs in Montgomery County is a big problem for people making more than half the county median income.

I have an issue with how landlords and real estate developers price properties close to public transportation networks. Rents for apartments skyrocket as we get closer to a Metro train station. Even high-traffic bus lines can generate higher rents.

Now, here is the problem. Most lower-to-middle income rely on Metro rail and bus transportation to commute for work or errands. I know that most lower income people do NOT prefer to commute by vehicle for long distance travels. But they are being shut out of downtown Silver Spring because of the “convenience” to numerous bus lines and the Red Line Metro station.

Since when does convenient access to Metro become a privilege for the upper-income, professional class in the DC area? After all, most yuppies own their own vehicles anyway. They can easily afford the $100+/month parking garage fees in some Silver Spring developments. And you have a surprise number that commute by vehicle to Northern Virginia or Rockville area. You think that someone making below $50K per year doesn’t want the same privilege of walking to the grocery store or the Metro rail station? Even working class want the same thing.

So, yes, it is about CHOICE…but it’s a painful choice for lower-to-middle class Montgomery County residents. No one should have to devote a significant percentage of his income to paying the rent…even if the neighborhood has close accessibility to Metro and shops.

I had numerous Internet battles with posters on the Penguin site who argued that gentrification works well for everyone…let the free market and God sort out the carnage. I laugh at those MFers today when I see empty units in the newer condo and leasing developments in Silver Spring. Even the $75-$100K yuppie crowd is not going to pay $2,300 per month for a 1 bedroom closet in the Veridian. Greed is a real bitch if you are a landlord/real estate developer.

We have a problem if a low or moderate-income household (say, one making 25 to 50% of the county’s median income) is spending a large share of their income (say, 35% or more) on housing, not because they choose to live in a desirable part of the county but because there are no areas in the county with rents that would cost less than 30% of their income.