So, inflation is not prices. Reducing inflation does not mean prices go down, it doesn't even mean they-dont-go-up. It means they go up less rapidly.

If inflation is 0% prices don't go down. (Prices going down is deflation, which has all kinds of bad side effects. It's really bad, you don't want that.)

The original driver of inflation (which is complicated, but simplified) was supply chain issues caused by covid. This lead to imbalanced supply and demand which in turn leads to inflation.

That drives prices up.

Yes, restored supply can bring prices down, but only if there is competition. Otherwise companies simply keep prices high.

Generally speaking, the increase of house prices isn't really an "inflation" thing. Inflation tends to be measured as a collection of inputs. It's more "daily shopping" and less "buying a house is a specific location".

Of course house pricing is important, and a big issue, but there are reasons for that which are not inflation. Inflation affects the price of materials, and labor, for building a new home, and that's one part of the equation- but for housing there are also issues like zoning etc.

One could take another example, eggs, where external factors (bird flu, lack of competition in the supply chain etc) are driving up prices, mostly as an experiment to see what the market will bear.

So, personally I think IRA did have an effect. The US had one of the lowest inflations globally post covid, which reduced the fastest. Which is not to say prices came down, they went up less quickly.

Of course, that's all out the window now. Today's policies are pretty much what you would do if you wanted to drive inflation up. Or more accurately if you wanted to maximize corporate profits. Reduce competition (by excluding foreign suppliers), remove regulatory oversight (which work to prevent illegal collusion), and extend corporate tax cuts (growing the deficit.)

The lazy way tarrifs have been implemented of course leads to inflated prices for things the US does not produce (like coffee) but that's just just collateral damage.

All of these inputs, coupled with a reduction of the physical labor force (with via deportation or simple fear) will drive up the cost of construction, hence making new housing more expensive and less attractive to construct. If you think MSGA cares about this, then you and I are seeing different MAGA. I thought voters care, but since T campaigned on all these things, MAGA voters, it would appear, do not care.

MAGA politicians certainly do not care. MAGA politicians are out to enrich themselves. And non-MAGA Republicans are either too scared or too cowardly to do anything about it.

The housing market had already been overheated for a few years at that point, exasperated by Covid migrations and historically low interest rates.