Thinking about the math for a bit, aside from places like One57, it doesn't make sense to build cheap apartments. The majority cost is in the structure and land

Thinking about the math for a bit, aside from places like One57, it doesn't make sense to build cheap apartments. The majority cost is in the structure and land, finishings are a pretty small amount of the total cost so why not spend slightly more and get "premium" finishings, so you can charge luxury prices? When would it make sense to not build luxury buildings? The only time I can think is if you are trying to build in places like East New York or similar but I don't think that market can support new construction in the first place, regardless of the level of finish. Also I believe the failure of rent control is well known, rent stabilization on the other hand is contentious (by people, not sure by economists) and started in 1974. Less than 2% of units in the city are rent controlled.