It's curious how in the last decade the upper price of a lego set has grown so much. Lego finally realized that there's an untapped adult market for lego sets. It's been fun to see that transition (despite the effect it's had on my wallet.)
Whereas now there are multiple $500+ sets on sale concurrently, multiple sets that have multi-thousand-piece part counts. It's undeniable that in the last 10 years LEGO has significantly leaned into serving the adult market.