> then something seems off with the market That, there is no debate. > what's happening in the irish property market. This is happening in many countries' pr

> then something seems off with the market That, there is no debate. > what's happening in the irish property market. This is happening in many countries' property markets, including the US, Canada, UK, Australia, etc. Two monetary factors can be used to purchase a house: income and wealth. You are assuming income should the only factor at play (it ought to be, but it is not), but not realizing that wealth is also used. The problem is that houses are now treated as a wealth asset, like a stock, with the expectations of 5-10% YoY growth, so there is an enormous appetite for dumping large savings/wealth into them. > This won't raise the median price to 600k, it will take way more sales to shift the median (if we're talking about the mean then this is more likely). Do you price a stock based on the median transaction of the last 10 years? No, because they are usually increasing in value. The most recent transactions provide a better estimate on approximately what the median or mean is. The shorter the time interval, the less data points, but the more accurate. The crux of what you're missing is that home prices for everyone are set on the margin of most recent transactions, and income isn't the whole story, as that assumption isn't making sense to you or the data. It's because there is saved up wealth that is a large factor in price too. The solution is to build enough to break housing as an indefinite 7% YoY asset, which will stop this awful positive feedback loop.