By assuring you that you are getting your money's worth, they maintain their promotion of housing as "investment" con.
> somehow, I had it in my head that the banks want to put brakes on risk
> a lot more than it feels like they do. and maybe they do, but the
> people all around you -- mediating between Big A$$ Bank and you as
> buyer -- theese folks, from your real estate agent, to your mortgage
> broker, to the appraiser, to the law firm, to the inspector, to the
> termite control people, to whomever..., these folks are all in it
> together. they wheel and deal, one big writhing, tangled mass of
> humanity all of whom have livelihoods that rest on you becoming a
> "buyer". It's like this big incestuous party going on behind the
> scenes: I wash your back with this buyer and you wash mine with
> another. I send you this business and down the road, you'll do me a
> favor in return.
>
> Frankly, it was really quite fascinating to watch.... It's like this
> massive juggernaut with all these people completely invested in
> making this transaction happen one way or another. At this point,
> there's something going on here that vastly complicates analysis of
> simple cost-benefit motivations.
Yeah, a massive exploit of the social cognition of humankind. All that processing power spinning the wheels of "progress". Fascinating.