Don’t forget zoning that prevents higher density

Everyone is greedy but demand is what drives up housing prices. I can be greedy and list my house for 10 million but no one’s gonna buy it and my greed won’t impact the market. Housing is cheap in rural West Virginia but no one wants to live there and there aren’t enough jobs for the few folks who do.

The demand is somewhat related to tech salaries because there are so many tech companies in SF and they want people in the office. Of course people are gonna try for jobs that offer 200-600 thousand a year in total compensation, and those folks aren’t gonna want to live 3 hours away from the office. Not that I blame tech workers. The housing crisis is ultimately a policy failure.

We also have a lot of financial incentives around home ownership, including huge tax incentives. Home ownership is much like higher education in that it’s historically been critical for attaining and maintaining an upper middle class lifestyle and now, despite skyrocketing costs, folks are under the impression that they have to get in at any cost or they will be left behind.