> There isn't enough supply of land

I live on the outskirts of the Atlanta metro area. Beyond where I live, there nothing but undeveloped forest. Developers have been gradually buying up and building, which is how Atlanta has grown. My little town has a "seed and feed" store and a Tractor Supply store. Both of those cater to farmers and large land lots, not 1/4 acre suburban. They would not be here if there weren't the kind of owners they cater to.

> Your plan only works if the person has enough capital

I'm an engineer, so I had enough income to do it. But not everyone does, which is why I mentioned a cooperative approach. People pitch in a little bit each, plus their labor, and fix up or build one house at a time to start with. One of them takes out their share and buys it conventionally. The loan proceeds then return the capital to the group so they can work on the next.

If you get one member like myself who has the spare capital, the other members don't have to contribute anything but labor.