I’m confused by your assumption that “private investment in housing has been too low and it will continue to be too low.” Do you think private companies, the very greedy developers, are choosing to limit their investment in such a lucrative industry? Their business has been artificially restricted by something you hinted at, zoning requirements. It’s reductive to say “market based solutions have been attempted” when municipal governments have had a stranglehold on new supply since the 60s, there is nothing natural about this market because it’s incapable of responding to demand.

pre-empting zoning, parking and density requirements such that new housing can be built with less materials and space

Why are we only removing restrictions for the federal government? Why not also allow non-profit and for-profit pipelines that already exist contribute to this shortage of housing in the meantime? Even if you could raise the hundreds of billions (if not trillions) from the feds, they can’t administer this program anytime soon.

I’ll reiterate my original point: I wish we entrusted the government with building housing and cut out for-profit developers for such an essential human need, but I know there’s no way the feds are able to raise that money, political capital, and administrative power in the next decade at least. I feel the same way about food, but I’m not saying we need to end food production until it’s a public entity.