Even without government interference, land scarcity must be part of the issue, right?

There are huge new developments in my area that are completely stopped because prices have fallen so much that developers can't make any money on them. Government is not doing that. We have added so much supply that prices are falling and now builders aren't building, which is exactly the market response you'd expect. How would you suggest that government unconstrain this supply? If you tell me "eliminate zoning", I will tell you I don't think that would actually move the needle very much; houses still cost X much to build.

Here's what @libertas is working on to move the needle…

California's thorough zoning and permitting steps safeguard our communities from unsafe, haphazard growth that could erode environmental standards and neighborhood integrity. This measured approach ensures lasting benefits for all residents, prioritizing quality over quantity in development.

This is also a non-partisan perspective on the issue. I have heard @sliccardo and @MattMahanSJ make the same observation.

I think it’s because we let more than 50 million people come into a country of about 300 million. That’s some serious demand And now we’re facing worse, layoffs in the great financial crisis and arise and socialism for people who came from socialist countries

It's mostly that social security exists, enabling seniors to sit on houses they otherwise might not be able to. Next reason is our insanely high rates of immigration, legal and illegal

And also the government mandates items like setbacks union, labor, two stairways in a building that drive up the cost @Freakonomics @moseskagan @houmanhemmati @reason

Same with healthcare and education.

Constrains new building (local govt) while the Feds subsidize loans!

Supply constraint is very valid but actually only 1/3rd of problem. Majority is a bait and switch on currency and outsourcing. A basic manual job should make $100 plus per hour in USA if it had kept pace with true / asset inflation

Artificial demand is a bigger factor and quicker to fix. 1. No depreciation for single family homes. Homeowners don’t get to depreciate but landlords do. Unfair. (Federal) 2. Change zoning for AirBnB to higher commercial rate.(County) 3. Raise AirBnB sales tax to 30%. (City) 2. Raise as

More homeowners (68%) than renters means gov keeps pumping up house prices with tax breaks & zoning restrictions.

Mostly local gov, which is a distributed problem. Though I also think we need more startups working to radically cut the cost of housing. Automation of course, but also rethinking some fundamentals.

The LA GOP fought against upzoning and permit streamlining. Big surprise we have a housing crisis - nobody wants to fix it.

And worse, (other parts of) government incentivize demand

And wrong. Read Henry George to start.

Because the democrats let in 2p+ million illegals in the last handful of years. Because they allow foreigners to buy land and homes as investments, and mega corps to gobble them all up and set the rental rates.

Simple economic solution. Difficult political problem.

Yes. Regulations preventing building. Causing lack of building. Causing econ 101 result: low supply, high demand, high prices. Places that aren't stupid (Texas) don't have this problem. Everywhere else does. Rent control exacerbates further in the stupidest of polities.

I agree—but housing’s only expensive because it’s a speculative investment. In reality? It’s a depreciating asset. Without those low 30-year rates, prices would collapse.

Exactly! Get the self-dealing filth governments out of it.

Why is healthcare so expensive? Why is education so expensive? Because the government constrains supply. Simple as that. The other two top-3 policy issues in the U.S. have a straightforward libertarian solution.

Government didn't constrain supply, Brandon brought in 20 million illegals in 4 yeas to EXPLODE DEMAND, you know demand is the OTHER SIDE of supply/demand economics. Remove 30 million illegals and DEMAND drops like a rock, as well as PRICE. Also school overcrowding, etc.

That's not the reason. There are more housing units per household today than there were fifty years ago. You're missing the actual reason

it's more correct to say the government makes it too expensive. to build a certain amount of units you need more land than you would if you could build more vertically.

Deregulation is not sufficient in every market and I'm tired of people pretending that upzoning alone can fix the housing crisis. If a city can sprawl, if it has a lot of vacant infill lots, sure. That's not gonna fix any of the most expensive markets though.

That's like saying: Why is gasoline so expensive? Because the government prevents you from storing it in your backyard pool. Zoning exists to bring order to a community and not have it look like Ready Player One.

I don’t like my life, must be the government.

Child brides won’t fix the housing issue.

No, housing is expensive to purchase because GSE’s create effective demand.

It’s important to note it’s local not federal regs

I can think of other reasons.

Because we have at least 70 million people here who have to be deported. Simple as that.

Because too many people want to live in the same area

They really don't.