[mmiyer]

The housing market in San Francisco is very much not free. Most areas are single family zoned so you are not allowed to build apartments (which are very much needed to meet demand), and extensive approvals are required to build anything. https://thefrisc.com/how-long-it-really-takes-to-get-a-build...

Although it is true that the problem of excessive bureaucracy is not exclusive to Europe and very common in the US too.