The reason house prices are so high is that local voters restrict new development, which enriches old homeowners at the expense of new buyers. Different regulat

The reason house prices are so high is that local voters restrict new development, which enriches old homeowners at the expense of new buyers. Different regulatory regimes give different results, e.g in Japan. https://www.wsj.com/articles/what-housing-crisis-in-japan-home-prices-stay-flat-11554210002 https://www.wsj.com/articles/what-housing-crisis-in-japan-ho... (paywalled)