Why is housing affordability a crisis in many developed nations?

Housing affordability is like when your favorite toy becomes way too expensive to buy, and you can’t even imagine having it anymore.

Imagine your town has a limited number of houses, just like there are only so many toys in the store. But more and more people want to live there, just like how you and all your friends want that same toy. So, the price goes up because everyone is trying to get one of those few houses.

Also, some grown-ups keep renting instead of buying homes, which means they’re not putting money into the town's house pool, it’s like they're saving their coins for later. That makes fewer houses available for other people who want them now.

Another thing is that the price of houses keeps going up faster than people’s paychecks, so even if you work hard and get a bigger allowance, it still feels like the toy is too expensive to buy.

Sometimes, grown-ups also make it harder to buy homes by asking for more money upfront, it's like the store wants you to pay a big part of the price before you can take the toy home. That makes it even tougher for people trying to get into the house game.