An extra yearly salary in appreciation each year is not an overstatement, and I'll tell you why: Many people are for decades in unskilled or low salary jobs, th

An extra yearly salary in appreciation each year is not an overstatement, and I'll tell you why: Many people are for decades in unskilled or low salary jobs, that in the past paid plenty to afford a house/mortgage. The wages have not kept up with real estate prices, but for the person who has his home paid off or mostly paid off, this is not a problem. For the person without real estate this is a problem. But yes, combine a big house with a low wage and you will have a real estate appreciation that is bigger than the yearly take home. Secondly, many countries have always had low salaries for all occupations, such as European countries. These countries have now seen an explosion in real estate prices, while salaries remain low and highly taxed. In these countries it is not unusual to have real estate appreciation being larger than the take home salary. But even if it's half or a third yearly salary in real estate appreciation every year for not working, that's still a great deal. Outside the USA property taxes are usually extremely low, with governments paying for schools and roads etc by taxes on labour. In practice people borrow against their real estate to buy new cars at low interest or to renovate their homes to increase their real estate value. One hour spent renovating your home as an amateur gives you several twice the value as one hour spent working in your field as a professional. And it's tax free.