Maybe elsewhere but not in DC, the city government has courted developers hard since before the pandemic. There are legal building restrictions because of the large number of historic properties but that doesn’t explain why costs are skyrocketing as supply increases. The answer is the supply that’s increasing is not the 3-5 br that people need when they hit their 30s and 40s. You can have a ton of studios but that doesn’t really help a 3 person family. Likewise you can have 3 br condos for $1.2MM and still not help the average buyer.