Low mortgage rates cause house values to go up because value is based on what an affordable monthly payment for that house.
Low rates means value goes up to equalize payments which is mostly superfluous for people with only one home and good for anyone with investment property but it causes a 20% down payment to be an unsurmountable barrier to entry for those looking to enter the market.
Home ownership is one if not the best way for families to generationally escape poverty.
When people bring up the prices of houses for baby boomers they totally overlook the interest rates and monthly payments.
The price of a house doesn't really matter. The payment and the down payment are what matter and the volatility of those isn't based on the piece of land changing value (in the shorter term).
In the last 6 years, my house doubled in value. Also, I recently refinanced for less than half the rate.
When borrowing money is cheap, there's a lot more competition for things bought with loans. On the other hand, the market rates for rent don't really change because the people don't suddenly have more disposable income.
If the present and future are worth the same, then the value of land is practically infinite because millions of generations of humans can use it. The obvious problem in this case is that nobody should own land forever.
Not any more.
EDIT: just checked, the property value can go up by $1M from when it was purchased without the inheritor owing additional tax. [1] Beyond that, tax is due on the incremental additional appreciation. In reality, this will only affect properties in a few metro areas (Bay Area, LA, OC, SD) and certain beachside properties. This isn't to say that the law is good or bad, just to describe the scope of its likely impact.
1: https://www.cunninghamlegal.com/california-legal-services/ca...
