Why not? It’s a thing that factors into cost of living.

What’s the alternative? Just wait until economists have declared the housing market is at some baseline of normalcy before determining pay? Do you really fail to see how rediculous that would be?

housing is a core part of being a functional human. get your head out of your ass

It’s not totally out of wack for those profiting. In fact almost unaffordable housing is the goal of those who control housing. The idea is to find out what people absolutely can’t afford to pay for their basic human needs, then lower the price by a few bucks.