[andrewjl]

The problem isn't necessarily capitalism, but market failure in housing. Economic laws dictate that anyone who wants to purchase a house should be able find one that they can afford (assuming good credit history, etc), instead through zoning and other measures regions like the Bay Area and others choose not to build.

[traek]

> Economic laws dictate that anyone who wants to purchase a house should be able find one that they can afford

Which economic laws dictate that?

[andrewjl]

Supply and demand

[traek]

You misunderstand supply and demand. Consumers can be (and are) priced out of the housing market just as they can be priced out of any market.

[Can_Not]

The other user probably did understand supply and demand. Consumers being priced out of the housing market can be a market failure. And in this scenario, it is a market failure. For every homeless person living in the street, there are 6 empty homes in the US, but a couple with 2 jobs and a down payment can't get approved for a home loan? Most definitely there is a market failure.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Market_failure

[andrewjl]

As long as there's land to build on and materials to build with, all creditworthy consumers who wish to buy a house should be able to buy one. (I'm using should in a non-normative sense here.) It may not be spacious, it may not be in the best school district, heck it may be a condo and not a standalone house, but it'll be at a price they can afford.