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For the editor:
Shaina Mishkin’s article on the demise of affordable homes (“First-Time Homebuyers Just Walk Away: ‘We’ve Been Pushed Into a Corner,’ Cover Story, April 1) got me thinking. Many homes are being bought by working-class Americans who want to raise their families in safe communities with decent public schools, a reliable fire department, and police protection. skyrocketing home values, residential real estate is not a “proven way to build wealth”.Over a period of years, the average two-income American household will pour into their home several hundred thousand dollars to pay property taxes, monthly utilities, and insurance, along with major maintenance, repairs, and renovations.The main trade-off in finding a ma barely affordable is the inability of many homeowners to save for their own retirement and the college education needs of their children. Many homeowners have inadequate life and disability insurance, which is the only safety net that can pay the mortgage in the event of a financial disaster caused by an unexpected death or permanent career-ending injury. The mortgage crash of 2008 proved that for many working Americans without sufficient income, unaffordable homes are the wrong strategy for building wealth.

Alan Jay Koshner, Chesterfield, Mo.

For the editor:
It is an assertion interested by real estate agents that the only housing alternative to a seller’s market is a lease. Affordability is always an issue for any homebuyer, and the proven alternative is to move further away to a cheaper area and get to work. And this alternative might not earn an agent their commission or pay it as much if the price is lower.

With telecommuting becoming the norm during the pandemic, many homebuyers have considerably more flexibility than in the past. For jobs requiring a presence on the site, the message to employers who have benefited enormously from low interest rates and the taxpayer-subsidized Paycheck Protection Program is clear: Pay higher wages to cover lost time. in traffic, or move your business closer to your labor source. .

Martin G. Mutsch, Wyckoff, NJ

For the editor:
I couldn’t help but think of the uncanny similarities to the bankruptcy of my homebuilder parents in the early 1980s due to euphoric house price drops coupled with incredibly high interest rates that no one had not planned. Baby boomers had an insatiable appetite for homes, and the associated need to finance them increased demand for debt and pushed interest rates close to 20%. The bank ended up buying my childhood home for half a declined, unsolicited offer. I hope the great cohort of Millennials doesn’t end up like their parents.

Joanne A. Hruska, Calgary, Canada

For the editor:
Very often there is an overlooked advantage to an obvious disadvantage. Neither the cover story nor the companion article, “Another Way to Build Wealth: The Stock Market,” mentions the potential benefits. The cover story correctly notes that a large number of buyers have been forced out of the real estate market by rising prices, as well as rising interest rates. The advantage is that the demand will decrease. And supply will increase as sellers rush to list homes, as they too realize there will be fewer potential buyers. Not that a real estate crash is brewing, but a drop in demand, coupled with an increase in supply, will eventually bring prices down to some degree.

Larry Pisapio, Holliston, Mass.

Biotech rebound

For the editor:
Thank you for your article on a battered market sector (“Biotech stocks took a beating. Here’s how to play a rebound,” March 31). It wouldn’t take much searching to find a handful of actively managed funds that easily outperform the iShares Biotechnology exchange-traded fund and the SPDR S&P Biotech ETF, both down double digits this year, as of April 4.

While most asset classes are adequately represented in portfolios using ETFs, or “raw beta,” some, like biotechnology, are not. The industry is so innovative, so disruptive and so fast-paced that it needs to be managed by a portfolio manager with expertise, extensive industry connections and seniority, with an eye on risk management.

As the saying goes, I can get you a cheap beta, but it’s the alpha that’s expensive and worth every penny.

Edward S. Finocchiaro, Marshfield, Mass.

FOMC in the mouth

For the editor:
“Federal Open Mouth Committee” is another good joke from Randall W. Forsyth, given the Federal Open Market Committee’s comments on the market over the past four months (“US Investors Should Be Wary of Betting on Japan’s Booming Stock Market” , Up & Down Wall Street, April 1).

And thanks to Jackson Cantrell, Barrons podcast producer, for confirming that I’m not the only millennial buying Series I savings bonds; they are completely tax exempt if you also use them for education expenses.

If the FOMC hawks get too tight, remember TreasuryDirect.gov for a tax-free state method to buy four-week Treasury bills at no cost and with no bid/ask spread.

David Johnson, Brooklyn, New York

The promise of hydrogen

For the editor:
A major potential benefit of hydrogen is that it can be consumed in fuel cells where electricity is produced electrochemically, which is much more efficient than direct combustion (“Buy This Hydrogen Producer Stock. It Can Benefit From a Push Into Clean Energy”, April 1). This also enables, for example, electric cars that can be quickly refueled, rather than current electric cars, which require extended charging times.

Richard Silver, Wilmette Ill.

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