A recent column in The Washington Post by housing finance expert Jim Parrott placed much of the blame for the current housing shortage on a tax that, he argued, discourages older adults from selling their homes.

I’m glad Parrott raised the important issue of seniors staying in their homes as they age. But his diagnosis is largely wrong. Tax law may play a small part in their unwillingness to move, but there are much bigger reasons that families, and policymakers, need to confront.

More important than taxes: The absence of affordable, accessible, and attractive housing; very low mortgage rates on their current homes; emotional ties to homes and communities; the physical challenges of moving; and the desire to bequeath a home to their heirs are just some. I suspect taxes are among the last things on their minds.

Parrott, a fellow non-resident fellow at The Urban Institute and a former senior housing official in the Obama administration, identified the problem as the capital gains tax home sellers must pay once their sales profit exceeds $250,000 for singles and........

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