One large reason for high priced real estate in some places is the geographically uneven distribution of disposable income. Historically, people moved to cities

One large reason for high priced real estate in some places is the geographically uneven distribution of disposable income. Historically, people moved to cities because the jobs were there (i.e., physical factories that had to exchange physical goods). No commuting for work = much less need for roads. If commuting and working in a centralized location is viewed as exceptional rather than normal, society could easily switch to lower density living, which is highly beneficial to most mammalian species (reduced stress, reduced aggression). If the most lucrative information-age jobs (tech, finance) become remote-first (or better, remote-only) and dominated by shape rotators, people will be able to move away from cities (and take the money with them). Only wordcels, who grift on social interactions, really need high density humanity to thrive.