Zell urges “cleansing,” not sympathy, on housing

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I now understand Sam Zell’s strategy to revive newspapers: He’s going to provide all the content himself. Here’s Zell’s analysis of the housing market today, filed by Tom Petruno on his Money & Co. blog:

‘What this country needs is a cleansing’ in the residential market, Zell said. ‘We need to clear out all of those people who should never have been in houses in the first place and who for sure shouldn’t be getting sympathy.’ He blamed another Sam -- Uncle in Washington -- for encouraging homeownership at any cost in recent years. The rise in the U.S. homeownership rate from 63% to 69% during the boom was totally unjustified, Zell said, other than by ‘the political impetus of, ‘Let’s put more people into homes they can’t afford.’’

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Photo: Charles Rex Arbogast / AP