> ... home prices increased faster in the prior 15 years ... Only because the averages get pulled down in places where people don't want to live. Plus effectiv

> ... home prices increased faster in the prior 15 years ... Only because the averages get pulled down in places where people don't want to live. Plus effective inflation going up (you know, the inflation including housing and education, not the made up government inflation number) > I'm not interested in debating the meaning of "direct control", but one rather direct control they have is the federal government could repeal the mortgage interest deduction. That would immediately decrease the financial incentive to buy a home therefore decrease demand and lower prices. Repealing it would create a big advantage for investing in homes rather than buying them to live in them. This sounds to me like the opposite of what you want. But maybe I'm an idiot. Reality: for any resource there is supply X and demand Y, in specific markets. X > Y: it matters a lot less what the exact policy is. Y > X: someone will be very, very unhappy. Rent prices, what we really care about, are not determined by who owns a house. They are determined by the amount of houses.