Comment by rsj_hn

All these programs that subsidize the cost of borrowing merely drive up the price of houses. This is why things like the mortgage interest deduction or zero percent financing are not in the long term interests of home buyers when they are "scaled up", and when they are niche programs they are basically a convoluted form of charity. There is nothing wrong with that, some people like their charities to be convoluted and have a penchant for financial engineering, but at the end of the day charities, by definition, cannot scale: A large group can give money to a small group, but when the society as a whole gives money to itself then it is no longer charity, it's just spending money on yourself in a convoluted way.