Housing — why it's unaffordable and what might change

Housing is unaffordable in most major cities because the political economy of zoning protects the asset values of existing homeowners at the expense of those who need a place to live — a structural arrangement that compounds over decades. Supply constraints, financialization of residential property, and the collapse of social housing investment have each contributed. What might change depends almost entirely on whether those who benefit from the current system lose the political power to preserve it.