"It's the land, not the house, that is so expensive."
Ding, ding, ding, we have a winner!
We can thank the environazis for the price of land in these land restricted places. If the market were able to work freely, we would have affordable housing available to all economic levels. As long as the environazis control the use of the land in these areas, there won't be a "pop".
Riverside County is growing like crazy. The land is much cheaper, and the people I know moving there have very nice houses.