Mostly it's a function of interest rates, the boom in prices happened after interest rates dropped close to zero (after the financial crisis).
Unfortunately house prices tend to be sticky so they won't decline so quickly when interest rates rise but they certainly haven't been keeping pace with inflation nor wages over the last few years (in the UK).
> Mostly it's a function of interest rates, the boom in prices happened after interest rates dropped close to zero (after the financial crisis).
Same as inflation, it's a complex multidimensional issue, anyone trying to reduce it to one single thing is missing at best half the picture.
Very strict zoning (most heavily impacting anglophone North America), which caps potential supply + property as an investment boom which increases investment in and financial incentives out of, and thus prices + Airbnb and similar reducing supply + increased building standards + vested interests (for lots of people them owning their home is a significant portion of their portfolio, so they don't want to see it's value decrease) resulting in NIMBYism reducing or slowing down construction + increased concentration in prospering cities and further inflating prices there, low interest rates enabling cheaper investments from people or corporations, etc etc etc.
Unfortunately house prices tend to be sticky so they won't decline so quickly when interest rates rise but they certainly haven't been keeping pace with inflation nor wages over the last few years (in the UK).