Prop 13 isn’t the reason old people hang on to their property. You can downgrade and maintain your Prop 13 tax advantage.

Most of the smaller, walkable places that are not car dependent do not allow that Prop 13 transfer, because it's mostly rental places.

Condo defect law is far far more onerous than defect law for single family homes, to the point that it doesn't make sense to offer units for sale. There are those working on reform but it's a slow process.

I have see it happen with older friends: they could move to a smaller place that's more appropriate but they'd had to pay a ton more.

The Prop 13 distortion on the market is very extreme. Perhaps even more so than the super low pandemic interest rates compared to today's interest rates.