eli5: Would making house’s cheaper fix the housing issue?
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The homebuilding industry certainly thinks so, and fights to keep safety regulations loose. That’s why single-family housing construction is built to such a lower standard than, say, an apartment building.
There is definitely a happy balance to be had somewhere. We don’t want to live in cardboard boxes, but if all houses had to be designed as bunkers, then most people would be homeless.
150 years ago, houses were smaller and usually didn’t have electricity, indoor plumbing, garages, etc. Any reasonably handy guy could build a house by himself with the help of his 12-year-old son. Now, you need dozens of specialists in HVAC, electrical work, wood construction, concrete, plumbing, etc. to build a house.
TL;DR: It would help.
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