I don't doubt you because you've obviously done a deep dive into this, but that's not at all what I'm seeing out of IAH and HOU. That's why I said "anecdotally".
Several of the routes I'm flying this year are the same ones I've flown for the past several years (at around the same travel dates) and fares are up significantly. And this is across multiple carriers (UA, WestJet, AA, and SW).
One route on AA (IAH to PHL to BGR) went up from $400-ish to $700-ish in two years.
Route from IAH to YYC is up from $300-ish to $575 (that's on WestJet; UA was significantly more expensive).
A third flight on SW from HOU to JAN is double what I paid a little over a year ago.
IAH to EWR is up from $600-ish last year to over $700-$800 around Thanksgiving (that's always an expensive ticket, but even more so this year). I just had to buy a one way from EWR to IAH, and it was almost as much as a round trip.
I'm sure there are deals to be found if your travel dates are "flexible", but let's face it - most people want to travel around weekends and holidays.
I am also one of those people who will fly on Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day - those tickets this year are not discounted, and in some cases are much more expensive (both on SW and UA). I'm also seeing Thursday and Monday tickets priced at a premium like weekend fares (particularly on SW).