Inflation vs. Deflation: This expert compares the purchasing power of the Dollar, Gold, and Bitcoin in the real estate sector

Are houses getting more expensive, or is money losing value? This financial analysis reveals how the price of a home changes dramatically when valued in dollars, gold, and Bitcoin, exposing the reality of inflation and the unique savings opportunities offered by cryptocurrency.

In today's economic narrative, there's a universal complaint that resonates across generations: housing has become unattainable. Headlines bombard us daily with record-breaking real estate prices, creating a sense of hopelessness for the average saver. 

However, a recent analysis presented by the analyst Adam Livingston It invites us to put on a new financial lens to observe this reality. His study challenges accepted convention, proposing that the rising cost of real estate is not necessarily an increase in the intrinsic value of properties, but rather an acute symptom of devaluation of the tool we use to measure wealth: fiat money.

When examining the behavior of the US real estate market in the decade between 2015 and 2025, we find an astonishing divergence dictated solely by the chosen unit of account. 

From the perspective of the US dollar, the average price of housing has experienced a nominal increase of 36,1%. This figure confirms the erosion of purchasing power of families. However, reality is reversed when we stop measuring the world in a currency that is printed at will and start using limited supply assetsThis premise suggests something revealing: wealth-devouring inflation is not an inevitable force of nature, but a circumstance that can be escaped through a correct selection of financial assets.

The erosion of fiat money versus the historical stability of reserve assets

To understand the true dynamics of prices in the real estate market and other areas, we must understand the concept of "economic energy". 

When an individual works, they exchange their finite time and vital effort for capital, which must be stored for future use. The fundamental problem lies in the container chosen to store that energy. When a fiat currency, such as the dollar, the euro, or the peso, is used—a currency subject to expansionary fiscal policies and continuous issuance by central banks—the contents of the container are eroded. In other words, purchasing power is diluted. 

The data shared by Livingston through X illustrates this arithmetic tragedy: those who saved in dollars saw their effort worth 36,1% less when buying a house compared to a decade ago.

However, the picture changes dramatically when we look at the behavior of gold. The precious metal, which has served as the backbone of trade for millennia due to its physical scarcity and the difficulty of its extraction, tells a deflationary story. Those investors who chose to protect their economic assets in gold saw the average price of housing fall by 29,1% in relative terms since 2015.

This offers a critical lesson on capital preservation, as gold not only protected savers from rising prices but actually reversed the trend. While the dollar buyer needed more bills to acquire the same good, the gold holder needed fewer ounces, acting as a protective shield for generational wealth against the systematic debasement of the state currency.

Bitcoin: The paradigm shift towards absolute deflation

However, while gold has demonstrated the weakness of the dollar, Bitcoin has exposed the obsolescence of traditional systems for measuring value. 

The comparison of purchasing power in the real estate market reaches surprising levels when we introduce Bitcoin into the equation. the rarest asset ever discovered by humankindThe leading cryptocurrency has not only outperformed gold, but has redefined the purchasing power of its holders on a historic scale. 

According to the figures presented in the analysis, The average price of a home in the United States, when valued in Bitcoin, has plummeted by 99,54%. in the same ten-year period.

According to the expert, this statistic is empirical proof that Bitcoin acts as a "superior store of value" thanks to its immutable properties: a predictable monetary policy, mathematically finite —limited to 21 million units— and immune to human or political intervention. 

Therefore, while the supply of gold increases slowly each year through physical mining, and the supply of dollars can be doubled with a click of the Federal Reserve, Bitcoin is inelastic.

The true monetary safe haven in the age of inflation

In her publicationLivingston highlights that Bitcoin represents a tool capable of absorb global liquidity and safeguard it In the face of the loss of purchasing power caused by inflationary monetary policies, its strength lies in operating under a standard that cannot be manipulated or arbitrarily expanded, making saving a much more efficient practice.

From their perspective, those who adopt Bitcoin move away from dependence on a financial system where prices rise constantly while wages remain stagnant. 

Livingston argues that participating in this inflationary process is not an obligation, but a choice. Bitcoin, on the other hand, allows for the preservation of value over time and transforms savings into a real means of acquiring goods. Thus, he concludes that it is not that assets lose value, but rather that the digital currency manages to represent, more accurately and consistently, the productivity and economic effort of those who use it.