In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, the United States experienced a much higher rate of inflation than at any time during the prior few decades. Like the prices of many goods and services, the cost of housing rose rapidly, with the median home price increasing by almost $100,000. … As University of California, Irvine, economist Jan K. Brueckner has pointed out, it is also possible that government regulation makes housing too expensive for some people who would otherwise not be homeless. For example, building codes that prohibit the construction of dormitory-style housing with shared bathrooms and kitchens might make housing too expensive to sufficiently discourage homelessness.

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