> This is a result of government strangling the construction market and nothing to do with collusion or hidden pricing.

Actually, many apartments near prestigious UC schools (Berkeley, UCLA) are priced to be affordable for two students per bedroom. This is how some undergraduate students have been renting for decades, from my own personal observations. A $7200/month 3 bedroom can house 6 students in bunk beds. So at $1200/month per student, this is more than affordable for their upper middle class parents.