This phenomenon is not limited to the US. Real estate prices in some European countries skyrocketed in the past couple of years to the point where middle class

This phenomenon is not limited to the US. Real estate prices in some European countries skyrocketed in the past couple of years to the point where middle class families with two sources of income are unable to afford a two-bedroom apartment in a medium-sized city, and can barely afford renting it too. Good luck getting a bank loan for around half a million dollars to buy a three bedroom apartment in a country where the average income before taxes is well below €50k/year. Something happened to the world economy after mid-2010s where demand for real estate grew like crazy as a kind of store of value/hoarding investment. The scapegoat keeps on shifting, from Airbnb to work-from-home to whatever lame excuse, but it's the same phenomenon everywhere.