Is there? Every time I've looked into this the numbers don't tell that story.

What we do see is landlords (corporate and private) taking things off the market on purpose to keep prices up, in addition to the collusion this thread is actively talking about.

By every conceivable metric housing has kept up with population.

Shortage? No.

Constructed scenarios that force people to lower their standard of living so landlords can make more money? Yes.