I agree - I'm not trying to imply that no cheaper housing would ever be built if we made it easier to build, but that, as you say with cars, it's more likely to

I agree - I'm not trying to imply that no cheaper housing would ever be built if we made it easier to build, but that, as you say with cars, it's more likely to happen later as the restrictions let up. For a community or country, however, there's value in trying to serve people of all economic levels, and not simply serve the needs of the richest first. This is especially true when you're talking about building a city or neighborhood where there's a finite amount of land near a train station on highway. If you wait for builders to "get around to" building cheaper houses, they'll be off in their own area instead of intermingled in the communities that they likely work and go to school in.