Mandating 20% down would pretty much mean little to no first-time buyers into the market. The mandate would hit young college graduates exceptionally hard, as a considerable portion of them are saddled with college loans that can, in some circumstances, equal or even surpass an average mortgage payment.
This means an inflated rental market and/or a weird societal thing where adults in their twenties, including married couples, are forced to live with parents or relatives for an extended period of time due to fiscal issues. Talk about extending an already over-extended period of adolescence.
Hmm.
A societal environment where people remain in a suspended state of adolescence until their late twenties, or dare I say it, their thirties, is "not good" for people of our political persuasion, which is based on an attitude of independence, self-reliance, and personal freedom.
Knee-jerk reaction is to say let's let the free market take care of it, but then again, the free market got us redlining, which is how we got into this mess in the first place.
Food for thought. Thanks for the thought-provoking post.
In my opinion the job market for decades to come is going to favor those who can pull up roots and move with a minimum of fuss. This will push young Americans into the rental market more than any tweaking with mortgage terms will.