I wonder if this problem flows both ways. I suspect that at least housing and school (or the overlap, housing in good school districts) is to some degree a zero

I wonder if this problem flows both ways. I suspect that at least housing and school (or the overlap, housing in good school districts) is to some degree a zero-sum game whose costs are set at the margins. In tech metros, where those marginal market-clearing prices are set by those tech salaries, it makes sense that they would settle at precisely the point where they're no longer quite comfortable to the average tech worker. Otherwise, what's to stop you from paying a bit more for that house than the second best offer?