You need to re evaluate your priors WRT “london, nyc are building a lot of housing”. The rate of housing supply growth in both of those cities is near historic

You need to re evaluate your priors WRT “london, nyc are building a lot of housing”. The rate of housing supply growth in both of those cities is near historic lows and below the rate needed to support natural population growth (residents having kids, kids moving to their own place), and your reference frame for judgement is likely comparing to 2008-2013 where there was little construction anywhere due to the financial crises. At a broad level, housing prices rise because the rate of office space growth/job growth exceeds the rate of housing supply growth. All of the cities you have listed have created far more jobs than housing units in the past 25 years, and office supply growth is probably most of the construction you perceive. Tokyo is the best example of a city that has balanced job growth with residential supply, and it is one of the most affordable mega cities.