It's entirely correct to say that cities are the main obstacle to building housing, but it's not true to say that everyone wants to build more.
Whether or not a project pencils out depends on local demand and interest rates. An unfortunately common sight in SF is that developers start construction before getting all the required permits to finish, then the city drags its feet for half a decade, then when the permits are finally granted the building no longer pencils and the foundation or skeleton are left to rot.
The timeliness is important; the goal for most finished buildings is that they provide so much supply that building new ones isn't financially viable.
I never said don't reform zoning or permitting. Allow building easily and charge a vacancy tax. Literally my first sentence in this thread was "Why not both?" https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48262501
It's entirely correct to say that cities are the main obstacle to building housing, but it's not true to say that everyone wants to build more.
Whether or not a project pencils out depends on local demand and interest rates. An unfortunately common sight in SF is that developers start construction before getting all the required permits to finish, then the city drags its feet for half a decade, then when the permits are finally granted the building no longer pencils and the foundation or skeleton are left to rot.
The timeliness is important; the goal for most finished buildings is that they provide so much supply that building new ones isn't financially viable.