I'm one of the lucky ones. Bought a house for $350k during my PhD, while everyone tried to talk me out of it. This was 6 years ago. Today, not is my mortgage $1,300/month (while renters are paying double for a single bedroom apartment) but the house is valued at $800k-$900k.
There's no way I'd be able to afford my current home today. It almost feels unfair.
But unfortunately, this is not a case of good for you, too bad for them. Unaffordable housing will cause political extremism and will increase crime as more people realize that the deck is hopelessly stacked against them and that they will not receive any reward for playing along with our current economic system.
Basically, California is an early experiment in this. Take a zig-zagging walk from the top of Market street to the Mission and you will know the future of America if we don’t keep housing affordable.
There's no way I'd be able to afford my current home today. It almost feels unfair.