You're right and I don't think you can think of this in isolation of the cost of housing more generally… On one hand. On the other hand, I think the marketing

You're right and I don't think you can think of this in isolation of the cost of housing more generally… On one hand. On the other hand, I think the marketing schpiel has more than pure dishonesty to it. There are bigger "transient young urban singles" groups today. SSomewhere between student and work, lifestyle-wise. In earlier generations they would be coupled or living with family. Some do spend a lot of time working or just out of the house. So convenience, location and of course price are big concerns. Basically, people who aren't students that live a lot like students. Like you say price is the strangest current here. If you could rent a normal flat for the same money, most would. That said, I'm not sure if there's ever been a time where decent single person housing has been available at a reasonable price. Government intervention-wise I think the worst thing possible would be to try and shit this kind of thing down. That just takes away the option for these who don't have a better one. Use it instead as a canary.