The real crisis is that policymakers in Washington are hellbent on pursuing two diametrically opposite housing/real estate goals: 1. House prices will increase

The real crisis is that policymakers in Washington are hellbent on pursuing two diametrically opposite housing/real estate goals: 1. House prices will increase to generate appreciation (through 5:1 or more leverage) that households can tap into to finance consumption. Mortgage rates will be kept as low as possible through programs like QEX and abandonment of QT. Tax code will be kept in a state that allows at least the more extravagant spenders to claim a mortgage deduction on income taxes, stimulating home buying. 2. House prices will be kept low so that new families can afford to buy a house. Zoning, highway construction subsidies, and suburbanization tax giveaways will keep the dream of a standalone house alive as long as possible, unsustainable economics be damned. It should be obvious, but house prices that routinely outstrip consumer inflation are incompatible with affordability.