I guess the point I was trying to make with the salaries is that they are always increasing over time. They are not decreasing or even stagnating. Maybe for a short period of time but in the last 30 years they've constantly increased. You wouldn't be wrong by saying that salaries over time are always increasing. What's been decreasing is the purchasing power of that money.
I think your general premise that young families were struggling after purchasing a house is not necessarily giving justice to the current situation for first time home buyers if you compare it to 5 years ago, 10 years ago, 15 years ago, 20 years ago. How much more money is the average person making compared to 5 years ago? It's pretty damn similar.
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This is the trend that you see in Canada and this includes Ottawa where income is more stable than most other cities.
I don't personally think it's debatable that young people now have it harder than people in the 90s. Because the money people had in the 90's went far compared to now. It's not particularly close either.