I don't agree. Coming from NZ to America, I am amazed at how cheap housing is (outside of a few select areas - California, New York and a few major urban metros

I don't agree. Coming from NZ to America, I am amazed at how cheap housing is (outside of a few select areas - California, New York and a few major urban metros), and the fact that you can fix your interest rates for the length of the entire loan. America has many problems - and California definitely has a housing crisis, but that's not true for the country at large.