> And why are elected politicians everywhere continuously shrugging their shoulders as if the housing market is somethin completely outside of their control.
This isn't what's happening. Any politician that promised to lower house prices would be demolished by middle class people who
a) think that additional wealth from rising house prices is their just reward for being wealthy enough to own a house, and
b) will be in deep shit on their mortgage if house prices go down, because mortgages are just highly leveraged investments.
edit: whenever house prices seem like they might go down, governments inject huge amounts of tax money into the housing market. The people that tell us in the US that cancelling student debt is a subsidy to the rich will never fail to send direct subsidy to homeowners and prospective homeowners. In that way, government interventions into the housing market only happen as a bubble is popping, and their intention is to maintain bubble pricing.
This isn't what's happening. Any politician that promised to lower house prices would be demolished by middle class people who
a) think that additional wealth from rising house prices is their just reward for being wealthy enough to own a house, and
b) will be in deep shit on their mortgage if house prices go down, because mortgages are just highly leveraged investments.
edit: whenever house prices seem like they might go down, governments inject huge amounts of tax money into the housing market. The people that tell us in the US that cancelling student debt is a subsidy to the rich will never fail to send direct subsidy to homeowners and prospective homeowners. In that way, government interventions into the housing market only happen as a bubble is popping, and their intention is to maintain bubble pricing.