Lose the deduction, and the price of houses decreases proportionately.
It's another shell game the government plays to make you think you're getting something from them.
Interest on any investment is an investment expense. Borrowing money to make money is a prime tool of capitalism. Margin interest when trading stocks is also part of the expense involved in investing, and it is also deductible from the profit made on the investment so they only pay income tax on the “net profit”.
When someone buys a vacation home for $200K and sells it 30 years later for $500K, should they be taxed on $300K “gross profit” when they in fact paid more than that amount in investment expenses along the way and were left with zero “net profit” ? That would put the individual at a serious disadvantage compared to businesses that get to deduct their business expenses from their profits and pay income tax only on their “net profit”.
Yes, of course. The deduction merely promotes housing. A general deduction, of anything. Would be more valuable than Gov’t helping to pick winners and losers. If you could use the deduction, to purchase a washer, car, porn, guns, etc. But, this only helps to inflate home values.