Labor rates are elevated from pre-covid times.
Material prices are still up from the same
Interest rates are high enough to make average mortgage payments nearly double those of pandemic times
Home prices are still elevated to astronomic prices
Builders are running labor shortages
Builders are also running razor thin margins while also offering inducements (discount interest rates, discounts, etc.)
Homeowners are staying in place vs moving to condo/rentals
potential homebuyers are struggling with tight budgets and astronomical monthly payment realities.
Seems like a pretty straightforward scenario, IMO.
Until rates come down, prices come down or wages go WAAAAY up, we will continue to be at an impasse.
In most desirable areas, real estate is land locked. Since there is no suitable additional supply, there is no building our way out of this.
I hear land has recently become available in Pacific Palisades, CA however.