There are two big factors that make housing in a given area expensive. Yes, one is that a lot of people want to live there. That one's inevitable though. Some

There are two big factors that make housing in a given area expensive. Yes, one is that a lot of people want to live there. That one's inevitable though. Some places are more desirable to live than others. I don't want to live in a small town with nothing to do. The other factor is when a city refuses to build sufficient housing. This one is not inevitable. It usually comes about due to entrenched interest in the value of existing housing. For instance, north San Jose has built no new housing in a decade, despite a well known housing crisis.