Builders build where the margins are, and in a market like this that means the most expensive homes buyers will absorb. A builder maximizes profit by putting up the priciest product the market accepts, keeping only a token lower-priced model in the lineup. The cost side reinforces it. Land, entitlement, and permitting can run a large fixed amount per lot, in some areas approaching six figures (illustrative), before a single wall goes up. That fixed cost makes a genuinely low-priced new home unprofitable to build in many places. So as long as buyers keep absorbing higher-priced new construction, that is where builders concentrate, and moderately priced new homes stay scarce. If affordability is your goal, the practical takeaway is that you will usually find better value in existing resale homes than in new construction in these markets. Entry-level new supply tends to appear only where land and permitting costs are low enough to support it. Costs and conditions vary by area, so treat this as the general pattern rather than a rule.