The very rough average sales price above hoovers around $3 million. That would require a mortgage far over 10K per month and income over $400,000 per year. While I'm aware many people buy with stock earnings or parental help of some kind, these numbers have gone from insanity to pure fantasy. Some day the real estate party is going to end. There are not that many jobs in the peninsula that pay over 200K per year and only C-level at very large companies are earning at or over the half-million mark. What about the rest of us?

Even rentals are priced for VP to c-levels, when the typical salary is way below. People need somewhere to live, so they are stretching hard to get in, and raking up credit card and auto debt at high interest rates to survive. It's not like there are other options.

I love this. It’s our society’s “filter.”

Which parts of "Most expensive area in the US to buy a house" and "Attracting the world's wealthiest buyers" don't you understand.
Prices are steep in Hong Kong as well...duh.