[zawazzi]

Both supply and demand for housing is geographically constrained which mean that if demand in a local geography goes up, so does the price. This means that the market can be efficient locally even if inefficient globally.

Since food and water are not constrained in this way (i.e. can be transported), local price increases are usually due to inefficient distribution (supply chain issues/spoilage) or global supply shortages. This assumes that people consume a relatively consistent amount of food/water.