Unpopular take: Houses have always been expensive. In the 60s you could buy a nice house for 40k. In the 70s that bumped up to 60k. By the 80s you could buy a nice house under 100k in most RI communities. But you had to cough up 20k for a down-payment and pledge your firstborn for a mortgage. That kept homeownership out of reach for many. Then the median home price hit 150, 200,300,400... and most of us cannot afford one just like many of our parents couldn't afford one 35 years ago. In ten years, the median price will creep near a mil and people will say, "remember ten years ago when you could buy a deecent house for 400k? That was a bargain!"

The solution is not some magical dust that creates inexpensive housing out of thin air. It's a solid housing policy (offering both homeownership and rental options) combined with raising incomes in a state where people make trash wages for a variety of reasons.