Salaries have climbed. Particularly for the home buying demographics. The real (inflation adjusted) median household income hit an all-time high in 2019. At $6

Salaries have climbed. Particularly for the home buying demographics. The real (inflation adjusted) median household income hit an all-time high in 2019. At $68,700 it was approximately $12,000 higher than 2012, and roughly 10-11% higher than the peak of the housing bubble. Incomes shot up rapidly from 2014 to 2019. For the people at the median or above, things have continued to be great in terms of income position (Covid didn't roll back those gains), as labor supply remains tight for most median pay and above jobs. So if mortgage rates have declined considerably (cut in half), and we're just now back to home prices being inflation adjusted where they were during the housing bubble peak, and real median household incomes are also 10% higher, and the US household disposable income to debt service payment ratio is near decades lows, that leaves a lot more room for higher mortgage payments - which fully explains the upward trajectory in housing prices.