But perhaps what I’ve read is just wrong or biased towards the kind of wealthier youngish people who want to live near the centres of these big cities and can already afford to rent there.
Maybe you prefer the city centre, but if you could build a new home in the suburbs for pennies on the dollar, it would be hard to pass up. But when building that suburban home costs just as much then there is little reason to compromise.
There is still a lot of sprawl happening, to be sure. But when competing for use, you're going to pay a lot more, which in turn drives up the cost in the city centre. Prior to 2007 when food commodities first started going nuts farmland was significantly less valuable.
Cities don't stand as islands. They exist within a much larger world.
Around here we have something like 500+ new dwelling units in the last few years, and we're pretty small. Other areas all over the country have been building like mad.
See: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/HOUST
The sudden drop due to covid caused a shock throughout the housing market that hasn't been absorbed even now.
Notably due to the Great Recession aligning with record high (at the time) food commodity prices, which saw farmers outcompeting home buyers for development lands.
Food commodities have completely smashed those records over the past year or two and if that continues we will no doubt have farmers willing to bet big, which again will constrain housing development.
What will be interesting is if we are able to get our food supply issues under control. Food prices have been known to drop like a rock before.