if it was a joke it would have been a gif and everyone in the comments would be like, "wow he's really booking it" or something idk I'm not a memeologist.
companies don't need to price it in because the consumers will just increase spending habits.
small studies like this don't work because people are heavily incentivized to save or pay down debt, knowing it's a study that can evaporate at any minute changes behaviors.
What we actually need is universal housing, I bet that's where most if not all of this money is going, right into the landlords pockets. The rich get richer.