[resolaibohp]

I would love to see some real data on this. I hear the blame for high real estate prices go to Chinese foreigners very frequently, yet I have never seen any real facts.

This is what I see happening with real estate right now. I feel like the majority of people who are driving up the prices are the people who were lucky to buy property at the right time and right place in the past and are cashing in now and trading up to a much nicer property in a different less expensive city or even in the same city they live in.

It can make sense to stay in the same city and trade up, the economy is better now, they most likely have higher paying jobs and their profits from their old property effectively reduces the cost of new properties to house prices many years ago assuming they use their profit as a down payment.

It is the people who were not homeowners before who are suffering in this market. This is why house values have no attachment to wages. Wages are not what are determining prices. It is the profits from previously purchased property which is fueling this market.

[mistermann]

When more income comes from RE appreciation (tax free, on top of it) than earned income, wages also have very little to do with standard of living.