[phkahler]

>> Housing is not independent of other goods...

Yes it is. Or rather, prices rise with inflation but there is another much larger influence on housing prices - interest rates. When rates fall, prices rise and when rates rise prices fall. This may actually be a driver of inflation, as it is the biggest way consumer borrowing changes things.

[dragonwriter]

> Or rather, prices rise with inflation but there is another much larger influence on housing prices - interest rates. When rates fall, prices rise and when rates rise prices fall.

Interest rates have the exact effect you describe on all prices, because they effect consumer credit at all levels (and houses aren't the only thing typically bought on credit), business access to capital (and thereby employment), etc., which drives the demand curve in every sector of the economy.

So, no, that's not a unique effect on housing prices. It's the reason monetary policy is a lever for effecting the economy broadly.

[phkahler]

Consumers don't borrow money for most spending. Houses and cars are primarily it. Credit cards are generally at higher interest rates that the Fed doesn't really have control over and that's not a consideration in most buying decisions. I would hypothesize that one of the primary ways Fed interest rate changes influence the economy is through home lending and the resulting consumer spending of that borrowed money.