> That's 646 square feet. That's 25'5"x25'5". For an urban area, that's plenty of space.

It's not. And this is the total space, including the bathroom and the kitchen.

> That doesn't mean literally every apartment is that small

You are right, some are even smaller: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/03/business/tiny-apartments-...

And all while just a hundred miles away, beautiful historical houses can be bought for literally nothing. And that's with a rapidly declining population.