Maintaining a near-zero interest rate creates artificial demand, and encourages investment of capital in inefficient enterprises. The thought process is "hey, I lose value with money in the bank. I'd be better off if I found something -- anything -- else to do with it!"
I think that once things take a turn, housing will also turn again, because in many areas the median house now costs enough that it's beyond the reach of the median person. That environment is unsustainable over a large time scale. Ultimately, we'll need a correction that sticks if we want to avoid repeating these events, and for that to happen we'd need a government willing to tolerate a politically unpalatable permanent reduction in asset prices.
(edit/note: I do find it odd that under a Democratic president, the major flows of borrowed cash (debt) have been directed to the big guys, while under a Republican president, they were directed to the little guys. Both were a terrible idea, but it seems backwards for what one would expect.)