It’s the same thing. People do not need ‘literal land and floor space for living’. If you want that, there’s plenty of empty abandoned buildings in, say, rural Japan you can go buy which will provide ‘literal land and floor space’ - because everyone moved to Tokyo. What people need is Land: scarce, finite housing slots with relevant meta-properties like plumbing and garbage collection and low crime rates within X travel-minutes of their job and relevant amenities. Building another floor means additional load on elevators, electricity, garbage, roads and public transit, etc. And to the extent the local residents think all that is already barely adequate and legally bar new entry, then that is the real limit on Land and why it is necessarily scarce and generates high rents.
It’s the same thing. People do not need ‘literal land and floor space for living’. If you want that, there’s plenty of empty abandoned buildings in, say, rural Japan you can go buy which will provide ‘literal land and floor space’ - because everyone moved to Tokyo. What people need is Land: scarce, finite housing slots with relevant meta-properties like plumbing and garbage collection and low crime rates within X travel-minutes of their job and relevant amenities. Building another floor means additional load on elevators, electricity, garbage, roads and public transit, etc. And to the extent the local residents think all that is already barely adequate and legally bar new entry, then that is the real limit on Land and why it is necessarily scarce and generates high rents.