I've been looking at real-estate in Austin recently -- all those tiny 1950s houses are still around, and they are not cheap! So I don't think the main causal fa

I've been looking at real-estate in Austin recently -- all those tiny 1950s houses are still around, and they are not cheap! So I don't think the main causal factor is everyone living in 3000 square foot McMansions. Plus, technology has made us way more capable -- productivity has increased a lot since the '50s, but wages have not kept up. Which makes me think it's more of an organizational / incentives kind of thing, rather than a pure amount of wealth kind of thing. (Something similar going on to the way in an purely competitive market, profits tend to get driven to 0, but with wages and quality of life, perhaps?)