
Why Is Manhattan So Expensive? Regulation and the Rise in Housing Prices - jseliger
http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/429979
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HarryHirsch
_Home building is a highly competitive industry with almost no natural
barriers to entry_

For a wood frame affair in Flatlandia this may be true, but the engineering
and project management skills required to deliver a high-rise building in
Manhattan on time and without cost overruns are infinitely higher.

 _We argue that land use restrictions are the natural explanation for this
gap._

No shit, Sherlock. Manhattan is full, the Subway runs at capacity, as do the
roadways and sewage lines. You just can't put extra people in unless you
expand infrastructure.

You'd rather ask why Philly is so cheap when both Boston and NYC are near-
unaffordable.

