[echelon]

> Something else is going on.

Growth.

In the last 40 years, the US population has picked up 100 million people. 227M vs 329M [1].

By 2050, the US population is estimated to be 379 million (+50M), and by 2100, it will be 434 million (+ an additional 55M) [2].

That's a lot of housing need to fill.

[1] Google "US population"; I'm not sure if these figures includes those here on non-permanent visas, but if not, it would probably increase the growth even more.

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Projections_of_population_grow...

[hunter2_]

Do you think education could also be a factor? More university degrees than in prior decades leading to relatively fewer people with low wages in cheap apartments and more high earners desiring luxurious housing, which takes more material and labor to construct? And of course the pandemic generated a desire to get into less-dense spaces with home offices.