Why Housing Is So Expensive — Particularly in Blue States

America is experiencing a housing crisis — or, more accurately, multiple housing crises. A massive housing shortage in major cities has resulted in skyrocketing rents. Low- and middle-income individuals find themselves priced out of the places with the most opportunity. Homelessness is rampant in cities across the country. Developers often face the steepest obstacles to building in the places where new housing is needed most. And young people are increasingly viewing homeownership, once a vital part of the American dream, as hopelessly out of reach. These outcomes weren’t inevitable. Plenty of other countries supply their populations with high-quality housing at lower prices. And the solutions here are incredibly simple: Build more housing in places where it’s needed, build cheaper forms of housing, build housing alongside public transit, provide more housing vouchers. So why don’t we act on them? Jenny Schuetz is a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and the author of the new book “ Fixer Upper: How to Repair America’s Broken Housing Systems ,” which is perhaps the best, clearest overview of America’s housing problems to date. We discuss why the states with the highest home…