Why can we no longer afford houses? Because houses are no longer just houses.

Financial scholar Patrick Boyle believes that viewing houses as an investment tool rather than simply a place to live is the core reason why many people can't afford homes.
Because once a society treats houses as a means of wealth appreciation, it must assume that housing prices will rise in the long term.
To maintain this expectation, policies often favor stabilizing the housing market, stabilizing land and credit systems, avoiding sharp declines in house prices, and continuing to stimulate demand through low down payments, low interest rates, and housing subsidies.
Loans become easier, mortgage rates lower, which further amplifies this mechanism. The same monthly payment can support higher loans, buyers can pay higher prices, and housing prices are pushed up continuously.
But the problem is, rising house prices do not necessarily mean society has created more wealth. Much of the appreciation in real estate comes from urban development, public facilities, educational resources, and population inflows, ultimately reflected in homeowners' assets, while the costs are borne by future homebuyers.
Therefore, the essence of housing financialization is turning young people's future income into the asset returns of the previous generation.
The more housing prices need to be protected, the harder it is for young people to enter the market, and the more society relies on rising house prices to maintain the illusion of wealth.