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It's not quite that extreme. There are plots of land in random, remote places that continuously go up for sale for extremely cheap prices. You won't find these

It's not quite that extreme. There are plots of land in random, remote places that continuously go up for sale for extremely cheap prices. You won't find these on NMLS listing services :-) Also, modern local regulation (not capitalism) is largely to blame for housing prices. NIMBYism and similar attitudes are usually behind it, although distrust of potentially corrupt officials can also factor in. Smart city planning can help here. There are good developers out there with money to invest. Finally, there are vast swaths of undeveloped, unused land, and not all of it is owned by the BLM. This represents an open opportunity for developing housing and townships. All of the above are not easy to take advantage of -- there are significant hurdles involved. But having multiple clear paths forward does imply we're not under some thumb of tyranny with regard to housing and real estate. (Edit: removed comment about homesteading; thanks for the correction!)

ceejayoz 2y ago
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homestead_Acts#End_of_homesteading https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homestead_Acts#End_of_homestea... > The Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 ended homesteading; by that time, federal government policy had shifted to retaining control of western public lands. The only exception to this new policy was in Alaska, for which the law allowed homesteading until 1986. > The last claim under this Act was made by Ken Deardorff for 80 acres (32 ha) of land on the Stony River in southwestern Alaska. He fulfilled all requirements of the homestead act in 1979 but did not receive his deed until May 1988. He is the last person to receive a title to land claimed under the Homestead Acts.
PaulHoule 2y ago
If we were like the Soviet Union we might address the problem of coastal overpopulation by setting up a Gulag in Idaho or Wyoming.

ceejayoz 2y ago

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homestead_Acts#End_of_homesteading https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homestead_Acts#End_of_homestea... > The Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 ended homesteading; by that time, federal government policy had shifted to retaining control of western public lands. The only exception to this new policy was in Alaska, for which the law allowed homesteading until 1986. > The last claim under this Act was made by Ken Deardorff for 80 acres (32 ha) of land on the Stony River in southwestern Alaska. He fulfilled all requirements of the homestead act in 1979 but did not receive his deed until May 1988. He is the last person to receive a title to land claimed under the Homestead Acts.

PaulHoule 2y ago

If we were like the Soviet Union we might address the problem of coastal overpopulation by setting up a Gulag in Idaho or Wyoming.