One underdiscussed factor when talking about housing prices in the US is that average house size has shot up over the decades. https://www.darrinqualman.com/house-size/
Housing is going to be more expensive if people are buying 2.5x more house.
Housing is going to be more expensive if people are buying 2.5x more house.
This should absolutely be talked about more often.
Typical Northern California architecture, which includes a garage that most people don't park their car in, provides a lot of spaces to start projects in. It's better to start a project in a garage than in a spare bedroom or basement, because if your project starts taking off you can have customers and employees there without awkwardness.
It only works if the climate is good enough to work in a sheltered but unheated space year round.
If a house cost $2000 in 1950, it probably costs $200K now. It can't all be due to increase in house size.
The biggest culprits probably are tax incentives for homeownership, increased population, zoning laws limiting housing development and international investment tied to citizenship attainment.
Houses have more amenities (e.g. central air). Houses have more volume via higher ceilings; 30 or 40 foot foyers were mostly for the unbelievably rich before McMansions. How big are lawns? The garage? And so on.
I don't think it's everything, but it's not insignificant.