[kridsdale1]

They’re over regulated. All the geography and materials in the world.

They aren’t building because they can’t do it affordably.

My friends in Vancouver had a vacant lot in a prime area and money. They had to wait for three years to be approved to start.

[gottorf]

This seems to be a problem especially concentrated in the Anglosphere. Britain[0], Canada, Australia, and to a lesser degree in the US due to its libertarian streak. I wonder why that's the case?

[0]: https://ukfoundations.co/

[__turbobrew__]

I don’t know about the others but many in Canada believe they have the right to an unchanging environment. They just want to “get theirs”, kick out the ladder, and everything stops at that point.

Homeowners still make up the majority of the voter base so they will vote for municipal candidates which prioritize not changing things.

My prediction is that things will inevitably flip when the “have not” group becomes larger than the “have” group, but that might not be for a while as home ownership only became truly unbearable maybe 10-15 years ago.

Another factor is that generational wealth plays a big role in home ownership. The dirty secret is those mid 20s couples down the street did not purchase that house on their own, the either got cosigned by another family member with a hefty down payment gift or they inherited wealth from grandma. There is no estate or gift taxes here so families can perpetuate class transfers forever.

[lmm]

It's happening in almost every developed country. Everyone introduced similar planning/zoning regimes following the post-WWII rebuilding (possibly as an overcorrection to unpleasant prefab buildings), and 70 years down the line they're paying the price.