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You can almost always build more housing on a given lot though. My detached single family home uses 1/5 or less of the land on my lot. You could build four town homes of the same size as my house on the same lot. If you went to four stories, eight units of 2,000 square feet each.

This isn't rocket science. It's about density of units per amount of land.

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First, you have to sell your home, which is not always a reality. Then, a construction company has to buy your expensive house and build enough stories to make up for the difference of buying, demolishing and building again. Finally, the municipality has to allow a building of that height. That's why in many areas you see townhouses that go up in price, but no developer wants to turn them into 4+ storey buildings.

The only hard part about that is the municipal permitting. Home construction is not rocket science! This is a mature industry and purchase, demolition, and new construction all have predictable costs.

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