In the past, Trump has stated that he may declare a housing "state of emergency" on the issue of historically high housing prices. When asked for specifics last week, Trump stated that he's interested in making it possible for young people to buy homes. But he also said that he doesn't want to "knock those numbers [i.e., prices] down" because current homeowners like to keep prices high. "It's a big part of their net worth," Trump said, referring to older homeowners for whom their real estate is usually their largest asset. Trump continued: "I want them to continue to have a big value for their house...You create a lot of housing all of a sudden and it drives the housing prices down." 

Trump admitted that wanting to keep prices high for current owners is in conflict with policies that make housing more affordable for new owners. Yet, Trump wouldn't say how he plans to carry out the impossible task of keeping home prices high while simultaneously making homes more affordable. 

One thing we can know for sure: whatever "solution" Trump pursues on this, it will involve more government subsidies and more federal intervention in housing markets. We definitely know that the chosen course of action will not be laissez-faire or even a partial turn toward free markets. After all, to introduce actual market freedom into the equation would result in home prices plummeting. 

Plummeting prices, of course, would be a good thing for millions of Americans, especially first-time home buyers and young families who desperately need more housing options. Experience shows, however, that driving down home prices to help new potential homeowners is not politically acceptable to those who already own housing assets, or otherwise benefit from high housing prices. 

After all, Trump stated it plainly enough. Millions of voters now consider expensive housing to be "a big part of their net worth" and we can expect plenty of political opposition to any policy that leads to falling prices.

Moreover, Trump is saying the quiet part out loud here. Historically, it has been very poor manners in Washington to explicitly admit that keeping home prices high is a deliberate policy. But, make no mistake. It is deliberate, and it is not merely the "unintended consequence" of good intentions.