Household type and transportation housing cost equilibrium

When apartments are in short supply, landlords outbid families for single family detached homes with yards, even while the premium offered for the yard is less. Three incomes beat two, even with substantial income differences. A family can only afford to outbid a roommate household where their transportation costs are lower: two cars beat three, even with substantial transportation differences. So new family housing gets produced where transportation costs are proportionally higher--at peripheral locations. Happily, this is also where regulation is least and hence supply most elastic. 

But for households that want/need lower transportation costs (and are willing/able to pay a premium for it), supply is much less elastic, as the land is already built up and adding new housing is more difficult. So to maintain affordability, households are forced to compromise on quality, accepting older and ore depreciated units. 

Depreciated housing is only acceptable on a temporary basis--as your income rises, you either have to be able to move up or fix up. And a fix-up is only worth doing if you can capture the value of that investment by enjoying it long-term. Hence, family households are forced into home ownership as a means to obtain decent housing in a decent location.