Almost all of the entry level jobs in housing construction pay the same as they did 25+ years ago due to illegals undercutting wages. Yet houses cost much more than they did then. I haven't worked in the construction industry recently so don't know where the $$ is going that is saved on wages. I do hear that material costs are out of sight- especially lumber due to enviros.
Americans can't work for a 25 year old pay scale, they aren't willing to have 5 families share a house- use the ER for medical care and all the other ways illegals cut the cost of living here.
I think service jobs, like Hotel and Food Service are about the same as construction- wages have not increased in years due to illegals.
The truth is though illegals now hold jobs at many pay levels so many of the jobs they have now would likely be easy to fill. Have you heard all the young people complain how hard it is to get a job while in high school or college, or that entry level job when they finish school?? That is due to illegals.
I don't pretend to know the answers to all the issues of the low paying jobs- but it is true that illegals have kept wages so low few could afford to work as cheap. Fact is though there are legal ways to get foreign workers to fill jobs if there is a shortage after the borders close.
I can tell you why the housing prices are so high. A realtor explained it to me. Let's say a house is about to come on the market and there's no competition. That is the type, size and neighborhood are unique in the market.
What the realtor will do is jack up the price over what someone might ordinarily charge. The house sells, because it's a unique item. Then other houses in the same neighborhood in a similar situation try to charge the same or more. Soon there's a glut, and then the price comes down a little (but not much). Then the later houses may be better and larger, but per square foot may be less than the first house. But the pattern is established.
This happens over and over and over. So it's clear why so many who look at the real estate market are concerned that there's a bubble that is going to burst.