> How do you speak clearly and plainly about these topics?

Housing prices are not considered in the CPI ("cost of living") because houses are mostly an asset. Cullen Roche has had some good stuff on the topic:

> House prices are an interesting case. Houses are considered capital investment by the [US] BLS. So, when the value of your home increases that's a good thing as you didn't consume the house. In other words, you don't need to replace the house. Consumption goods are different in that you need to replace the thing you bought. Inflation is very bad for consumption goods because it costs you more to replace that thing each time you need it (food, for instance).

* https://www.pragcap.com/forum/topic/assflation/#postid-2165

* https://web.archive.org/web/20210929154549/https://www.pragc...

> The BLS views housing as a mostly “investment” item as opposed to a consumption item. So, for instance, when you consume a hot dog and have to replace it then the cost of replacement is a direct reflection on your well-being. A $1 hot dog that costs $2 one year later is a material change in living standards, all else equal, since the hot dog is an asset that you literally consume. A house is much more complex. […]

> Of course, anyone who owns a house knows that it’s not that simple. You do basically consume your house over time. For instance, my home has appreciated substantially since I purchased it just 5 years ago and underwent a hellish remodel. At that time the cost of replacement was roughly $300 per square foot. But in the ensuing years the cost of replacement has increased to $400 per square foot. As my physical home falls apart over the years I will need to replace it. But the key point is that, as I replace these components the housing market is likely to revalue the total home value to account for this investment. So even though I am consuming my house over time I am very likely to recoup those costs.

* https://www.pragcap.com/should-house-prices-be-in-the-cpi/

The "C" in CPI stands for consumer. Houses aren't in the CPI for the same reasons stocks and bonds are not: we don't consume them to live.

'Shelter' is considered in the CPI generally though:

* https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/71-607-x/2018016/cpi-ipc...

For the homeowners' replacement cost, at least in Canada:

> In measuring changes in the cost of owned accommodation, Statistics Canada considers six essential components: mortgage interest cost; replacement cost; property taxes; homeowners’ home and mortgage insurance; maintenance and repairs; and other owned accommodation expenses.

> Rather than looking at the price of purchasing a house, the idea is to treat a homeowner as if they are renting their own dwelling, and track any expenses that a landlord would normally incur. As Fred Barzyk, Director of Consumer Prices Division explains, the question we want to answer in the shelter index, is “what does it cost to run your home?"

* https://www.statcan.gc.ca/en/blog/cs/shelter-cost

See notes on 2021:

> The owned accommodation price index (+4.1%) rose at a faster pace than the rented accommodation price index (+1.7%) in 2021.

> The upkeep of a property, or the homeowners' replacement cost, was up 11.4% on an annual average basis, compared with a 2.0% increase in 2020. The homeowners' replacement cost, a key driver of owned accommodation price growth, is linked to the price of new homes. New home prices rose consistently throughout 2021. The homeowners' replacement cost increased the most in Manitoba (+17.6%), with Prince Edward Island (+14.7%), Quebec (+14.3%) and Nova Scotia (+12.1%) also recording strong annual average movements.

* https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/220119/dq220...