Another aspect is the vast infrastructure which underpins communities. The majority of which is beyond ones own property boundary. There's a consensus in some

Another aspect is the vast infrastructure which underpins communities. The majority of which is beyond ones own property boundary. There's a consensus in some countries saying that infrastructure has been suffering a many decades-long decline. For example, New Zealand speaks of a theoretical US$120B deficit, which is in the ballpark of that entire country's yearly GDP. And as New Zealand itself is somewhat a testament to - it's possible to build somewhere new and distant instead, if you please, away from all these pesky existing infrastructure woes; and then, enjoy paying for everything to be transported there, and building your own all-new infrastructure. Not just the obvious - remember to include things like schools and hospitals and libraries and parks and commercial districts. The costs are numerous. I believe the author is correct in the sense that the biggest cost of housing may be the externalities, in the same broadly philosophical way that the biggest influence upon a person's life is the world. But it's a lot more than merely the zoning, I think.