I often see the discussion being framed as the supply for housing never meeting the demand therfore prices continue to rise steadily, which is mostly true and larger metro areas like NYC/New Jersey metro area. There hasn't been any new construction enmasse to meet the demand on top of the fact this tri-state area is a highly desirable area to live in with some of the largest population density per capita. Move somewhere else like cleavland or Atlanta and you have a very different story, where the demand to move there is far and few so development actually helps reduce costs of homes/rent (although Georgia in general has been starting to see major increases in population the past few years due to corporate tax breaks resulting and many major companies to move offices to the state).