Well, there's also a question of what you're getting for your money.
A ten-by-ten one-roomed shack with a stove in the middle, no running water, no bathroom and no foundation can be had for about a few thousand dollars, and if you put it on an undesirable quarter acre in the middle of nowhere the land will cost you another thousand.
A well-built small home, a few hundred square feet with a well, a septic tank, electricity and the appropriate four or five rooms will cost you thirty to fifty thousand dollars.
The problem isn't just economics or regulations or technology; it's also one of standards and social status. I'm willing to wager that far more people buy a big expensive house because either they want the extra features -- air conditioning, plumbing, and enough bedrooms and bathrooms to qualify as a small mansion -- or because they want to impress their friends, family and neighbors, than do because the market doesn't make small, cheap houses available.
A ten-by-ten one-roomed shack with a stove in the middle, no running water, no bathroom and no foundation can be had for about a few thousand dollars, and if you put it on an undesirable quarter acre in the middle of nowhere the land will cost you another thousand.
A well-built small home, a few hundred square feet with a well, a septic tank, electricity and the appropriate four or five rooms will cost you thirty to fifty thousand dollars.
The problem isn't just economics or regulations or technology; it's also one of standards and social status. I'm willing to wager that far more people buy a big expensive house because either they want the extra features -- air conditioning, plumbing, and enough bedrooms and bathrooms to qualify as a small mansion -- or because they want to impress their friends, family and neighbors, than do because the market doesn't make small, cheap houses available.