> surely they don't have crazy american rules

Surely they have crazy European rules instead? The EU isn't exactly known for a lack of rules.

Europe’s population density is also much higher whilst it simultaneously has an irrational hate for highrises.

Where would you build them? You’d need to first “seed” new neighborhoods with subway stations “in the middle of nowhere”…

As soon as you announce a new subway station the vultures descend and prices will ratchet up as speculators by land and sit in it, waiting for the hither bidder.

That means the demand is very high and we need to build even more subway stations until the “vultures” can’t arbitrage the market anymore.

Crazy that you are being downvoted for applying the principles of supply and demand.

If I think through this;

1. Price varies based on desirability of a location.

2. Desirability varies based on many factors, including proximity to a city center or major business concerns, cost of living, crime rate, etc.

3. To optimize desirability until there is more desirable space than those who desire it would require optimizing the variables that contribute to desirability.

4. The potential result is desirable, ie proximity to jobs or cultural center, low crime, low cost of living, etc. A number of variables contribute to each of these, and those would require optimization as well.

4a. There will be a point of diminishing returns, where builders will exit a market when there are not enough buyers at high enough prices to make a profit. As soon as there is a hint of profit, the vultures will appear.

5. In order to prevent real estate speculation, we could impose a few laws: first, make lending at a profit illegal for all non productive enterprises; second, levy a land value tax that hurts enough that it makes owning non productive commercial property untenable to own; third, allow only individuals to own residential real estate, ie, eliminate the rental market entirely and levy use taxes for vacant homes (your real estate must be your home of record and must be your residence for some minimum percentage of time every year).

This would destroy the real estate market entirely, and I don't think that would be a bad thing.

One part of the answer to that is a land value tax. That way the “vultures” won’t be able to simply sit on the property waiting for it to appreciate before selling it.

Not enough people in Europe who can pay what those homes would cost

Aren't most EU cities significantly more dense than in the US?

Do you have the people to build them?

That's a problem in this part of the world. People would rather sit at a comfy desk writing software than expose themselves to a harsh construction environment. The small few willing to do it are booked up years in advance. They can't possibly build any more than they already are.

You might say higher pay would attract more people, but guess what higher pay brings?