cf sibling's comment: You need to factor-in credit's price. I've been looking for a flat near Paris for 2 years, and sure the prices are lowering. But still, th

cf sibling's comment: You need to factor-in credit's price. I've been looking for a flat near Paris for 2 years, and sure the prices are lowering. But still, the cost (either total cost, or percentage of my salary) for me increased. My mental model of housing in my area is that I have the n-th salary in that area, so I get the n-th best flat. The pricing will then be exactly what I can afford (which is legally 35% of my salary here). What changes is who gets how much, 3 years ago it would go at 95% to the previous owner, nowadays it's 70%.