There are many reasons that buying a house is so expensive. First, there’s the supply/demand issue. In a lot of places, there aren’t enough homes to house all the people. Then, there are the same inflationary pressures that are pushing up prices of everything—including all the stuff (to use a technical term) that gets used when building a house. And, of course, there are all the rules, codes, red tape, Nimbyism, and anti-building vibes that make building a new house a living nightmare. “The average San Francisco project takes nearly four years to be permitted … One by one, each rule has its reasons … Who’s against money for schools? Who’s against safe low-income housing? No one, perhaps. But when you add them up, defensible rules can become indefensible barriers to new construction. This is especially true for affordable-housing projects.” In The Atlantic, Derek Thompson explains why the barrier between you and that new house make a better door than a window. Why Your House Was So Expensive. On the (house)flip side, the oncoming recession coupled with rising interest rates will make the house you just spent years building worth a lot less…