[mhays]

A crash is usually caused by high interest rates and/or a bad economy. That won't help middle-income people on average, though it would help some people.

Upzones are the bigger key, in expensive cities. When land is six figures per unit, a broad upzone might knock tens of thousands off each new home. That'll have a similar effect on existing homes of all types.

Getting rid of parking requirements is another big one, and really effective in urban areas. Suddenly a tight site that could only squeeze a few cars has no limit on housing units. Even on easy sites you're saving tens of thousands per unit.

And of course the biggest method of cheap housing it smaller units. Smaller houses, smaller apartments, everything. At the extreme, why can't a service worker live in a college-like dorm? Why can't a struggling family of four live in a 900 sf condo or townhouse?

We also need to fix condo liability laws. They've completely killed the sub-luxury market in my state, and even much of the luxury market.

Of course I'd focus on infill, not sprawl. We shouldn't kill our rural or natural areas.