Canada

A big part of this is that it isn't just a "housing problem". Its a problem with the way we build, tax, zone, and maintain cities. Decades of unchecked suburban growth coupled with limiting density on top of our bulldozed cities has not been a good recipe. Solving the housing crisis isn't as easy as paving over more farmland for suburban subdivisions, it means rethinking the entire way we structure our cities and how we get around them. Even current prices would technically be more affordable if we had more robust transit allowing more people to live car free without major sacrafices to their local mobility. On top of this, all 3 levels of governments have to get along to properly implement these changes, which adds delays and red tapes as a municipality argues against a province trying to follow federal direction and funding.

There is also the real issue that many homeowners are not willing to accept a 50% drop in home value, even when they say they want affordable housing. This might be able to be mitigated a bit if overpriced mortgages can be renegotiated for a lower value.