Software developers these days can move to many other major cities and find a job instantly. They are in very high demand. They don't have to live in the Silicon Valley area and pay 3x the price for rent.
If I was a property investor, I wouldn't want to build properties there either. The risk would be extremely high that property values are going to come crashing back down to reality at some point. There is a serious property value bubble out there.
I lease a home in North Houston owned by an attorney in LA - all of his real estate investments are here and Brownsville, Tx. (And I pay $1150 for 1600 sq ft with a giant yard, stand-alone home, not an apartment)
Property investors aren't the ones building properties. It's the property developers. I read this in an article explaining Miami's development boom, in spite of the possibility that rising sea levels could inundate much of the new construction in the next century. The property developer's only concern is selling the property. Once it's out of their hands, they are no longer exposed to risk on that property. As long as they can continue convincing property investors that the boom will continue, developers will continue building right up till the moment that property values come crashing down.
If I was a property investor, I wouldn't want to build properties there either. The risk would be extremely high that property values are going to come crashing back down to reality at some point. There is a serious property value bubble out there.