It took 13.5 months to build 2.8 million square feet in New York City! That's how long it took, starting in 1930, amidst the Great Depression, to build the Empire State Building. How was this possible? The Empire State Building was completed in a record 410 days by utilizing an assembly-line construction approach, a "fast-track" method allowing construction to begin before designs were finalized, relying on a relentless "just-in-time" supply chain, a specialized miniature railway on every floor and up to 3,500 workers operating simultaneously.

Anyone who believes we cannot resolve our under-supplied housing markets fast, need look no further than the tech industry today. For years we were told we did not have enough power supply for EV's and electric appliances when along comes A.I and its massive power needs, and hey presto, we are seeing a massive ramp-up in the build-out of electricity infrastructure, fast! from 2020-2025, average annual electric supply grew by roughly 20–30 GW. Between 2025 and 2030, this is likely to double. 86 GW is slated for 2026 alone, triple the average of the prior 5 years. Where there's a will, there's a way. Now, what if we applied this thinking to housing?

19th Century economist Henry George's obsession was real estate. His theory was that if you weren't really careful, you'd get runaway real estate prices and the people who owned the real estate would make all the gains in a society. The dynamic ends up being that you add 10% to the population in a city and maybe the house prices go up 50% and maybe people's salaries go up, but they don't go up by 50%. So the GDP grows, but it's a giant windfall to the boomer homeowners and to the landlords and it's a massive hit to the lower-middle class and to young people who can never get on the housing ladder. Restrictive zoning laws and limited housing construction are major drivers of the affordability crisis. Housing costs, particularly rent, are a bigger driver of financial pressure for many Americans than everyday price increases. The really big cost item is rent, fueled by a mismatch between housing supply and demand along with wages that are not keeping up with rising costs, while many corporate profits soar. Moody's estimates it would take more than 2 million new homes to resolve. Goldman Sachs analysts put the number at 3 million. Brookings projects 5 million and McKinsey says 8 million.

Housing is an A.I sized problem that's already fueling impractical, unrealistic political rhetoric. This needs to change. Where there's a will, there's a way!