This world also usually requires you physically reach your place of work, which is typically inside cities. Long commutes cost lots of money and waste a large chunk of your life. And hey, if those cheap houses were available in cities, people would buy them, but they’re not. You can’t blame buyers for a supply shortage.

I think you fundamentally don’t understand the issue. The issue is land, not the houses built on top of them. Land is limited, and the investors scalp the land first and foremost. There’s usually enough land to house people well, but scalpers prefer scarcity so they can profit. Also, a lot of land is used very stupidly, just look at American-style suburbs.