Vancouver (my city) is always rated as less affordable than every other Canadian or American city (except maybe NYC). And yet somehow I am a homeowner (mortgage-holding, not outright) in the city of Vancouver proper (not in a cheap suburb), which I purchased when I was making the most I'd ever made in my life, $50k/a (Vancouver junior dev salary around 2010).

What can we conclude from this? The only conclusion I can reach is that most people who complain about not being able to afford real estate are merely people with unrealistic expectations about what type of home they "need". I just can't make heads or tails of it otherwise.

Note: sure, some people really are locked out. If you're a 22yo single parent with no marketable skills and having to work 60 hours a week to feed your kids and etc-etc-etc, you're authorized by me to complain about your real estate woes.