Not OP nor a tax-lawyer, but I think they meant that the federal tax code changed so that: 1. It became was more-expensive for individuals to own a house, espe

Not OP nor a tax-lawyer, but I think they meant that the federal tax code changed so that: 1. It became was more-expensive for individuals to own a house, especially in areas with high local property taxes. (Losing the ability to deduct those payments from their personal federal income bill.) 2. Taxes on corporate profits went down in general, and some portion of those corporations may be in the business of buying housing and then renting them out. (Since companies are taxed on profit rather than income, they already pseudo-deduct property taxes and other expenses.) That said, those two items don't feel like, er, "two ends of the same see-saw" to me, especially given how #2 is very broad.