The misconception you have here is that the cost of the housing is driven by how "high tier" it is. It's not, it's driven by land costs. That's why even a fairl

The misconception you have here is that the cost of the housing is driven by how "high tier" it is. It's not, it's driven by land costs. That's why even a fairly old plain apartment in SF is still very expensive to rent, and houses that are completely ordinary in Silicon Valley are millions to buy. As an example, would you consider this $1.5M house "high tier"? https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/879-San-Ardo-Way-Mountain-View-CA-94043/19513080_zpid/ https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/879-San-Ardo-Way-Mountain... There's not really a way to make low cost housing beyond either high supply, or subsidization.