There is another way it hurts homeowners: the high cost of housing increases the cost of upgrading and maintaining the home you own, mostly via the construction

There is another way it hurts homeowners: the high cost of housing increases the cost of upgrading and maintaining the home you own, mostly via the construction labor market - because the workers need to pay for the roofs over their heads too. Therefore, just keeping the depreciation of your house at bay ends up becoming expensive. If you are lucky enough to enjoy DIY work like I do, you can avoid this somewhat, but the moment you need to do any major renovation that you don't have the time and skills to do yourself, it costs about the same as a purchase.