We would need 'China style' decisions - which ended up with building so many apartments, that they end up with a significant percentage of them being empty, and the ripples of those decision will crush their economy for the years to come.
Competitive markets in general are pretty good at matching supply and demand, even when demand is pretty all over the place.
Cars are a great example in the US — sure, there are times when prices go haywire from supply shocks (e.g., due to chip shortages in the pandemic), but outside those no one really complains about a “car crisis”. There are new and used cars available at very many price points, old vehicles get retired and new ones are manufactured, etc.
In housing, one major reason we don’t “just build more” is precisely because of regulation that either prevents housing construction outright or makes it very expensive, nominally in the public interest. We don’t need state owned enterprises paid to construct vacant apartments — we have plenty of companies and individuals willing to build, we just need to let them.
Your example perfectly supports that!
Central planning is kind of where we are now already — transportation options are severely restricted, transit costs are subsidized in some areas for some people but not others, etc.
Competitive markets in general are pretty good at matching supply and demand, even when demand is pretty all over the place.
Housing is a great example in the US — sure, there are times when prices go haywire from supply shocks (e.g., due to mortgage bubbles or material shortages in the pandemic), but outside those no one really complains about a “housing crisis”. There are new and used houses available at very many price points, old buildings get retired and new ones are manufactured, etc.
In transportation, one major reason we don’t “just build more” is precisely because of regulation that either prevents rail construction outright or makes it very expensive, nominally in the public interest. We don’t need state owned enterprises paid to construct unused trains — we have plenty of companies and individuals willing to build, we just need to let them.
The music has stopped. It will take some time, but the outcome is almost inevitable.