A lot of what you are describing is regional issues for costal cities. My specific comment was pointing that {Base land + Materials + Labor} is very expensive, and while addressing these fees and red tape might be important, it's not the whole cake. I was also targeting a more modest experience.
In Texas it might be $40k land (varies by size and location), $250k for construction ($115/sqft * 2250 sqft), and maybe $50k for utilities/landscaping/driveway/permits etc (varies by taste and location). So $350k for a house in a state with a $70k median household income. With a 20% downpayment and a 6.5% interest rate this median family for a median house would spend 1 year salary on the downpayment and over a third of their gross income on the mortgage. If they had a typical amount of debt from cars, credit cards, or student loans their DTI would be too high to qualify.
EDIT: To my original point. Saying "Build more homes" is an oversimplification. Homes are largely priced such that they equal {Land + Building value}, and new homes are largely priced at { Land + Construction costs + reasonable margin for developer }. If you want to build more homes, look at how building can be cheaper. There are some clear low hanging fruit you are describing in your LA experience, but even where the regulatory environment and labor costs are more reasonable the numbers don't crunch well. Let's have conversations about how to reduce the cost of producing housing. Getting cost low enough that the median household income can afford new construction would absolutely drive up the number of homes being built.
In Texas it might be $40k land (varies by size and location), $250k for construction ($115/sqft * 2250 sqft), and maybe $50k for utilities/landscaping/driveway/permits etc (varies by taste and location). So $350k for a house in a state with a $70k median household income. With a 20% downpayment and a 6.5% interest rate this median family for a median house would spend 1 year salary on the downpayment and over a third of their gross income on the mortgage. If they had a typical amount of debt from cars, credit cards, or student loans their DTI would be too high to qualify.
EDIT: To my original point. Saying "Build more homes" is an oversimplification. Homes are largely priced such that they equal {Land + Building value}, and new homes are largely priced at { Land + Construction costs + reasonable margin for developer }. If you want to build more homes, look at how building can be cheaper. There are some clear low hanging fruit you are describing in your LA experience, but even where the regulatory environment and labor costs are more reasonable the numbers don't crunch well. Let's have conversations about how to reduce the cost of producing housing. Getting cost low enough that the median household income can afford new construction would absolutely drive up the number of homes being built.