Yes, housing construction did go up, but it was very uneven. Due to the craziness with the subprime lending there was a lot of housing built in the desserts of the southwest or the outer exurbs of Jacksonsville. If you want to move there you can find homes for really cheap, but good luck finding a job.
Also note that even as more homes were being built, the resources to build these homes were getting more expensive due to the price of lumber and copper getting bid up. So even if you can change the zoning laws to allow more building, the price still gets bid up to some extent from the price of the natural resources.
I agree of course that these laws enforcing minimum house sizes and minimum lot sizes should be repealed. I think there are all sorts of policy policies that should be enacted to lower the minimum cost of living while preserving quality of life for the things that really matter.
Also note that even as more homes were being built, the resources to build these homes were getting more expensive due to the price of lumber and copper getting bid up. So even if you can change the zoning laws to allow more building, the price still gets bid up to some extent from the price of the natural resources.
I agree of course that these laws enforcing minimum house sizes and minimum lot sizes should be repealed. I think there are all sorts of policy policies that should be enacted to lower the minimum cost of living while preserving quality of life for the things that really matter.