Anyone that lives in Austin can tell you that incomes are increasing rapidly.

This has been a rapidly appreciating market with some months nearing 20% appreciation so sure 4% month over month reduction in price looks stark in comparison but were still up 6.6% from last year which is 2-3x the national average, our inventory is down to just over 3 months of inventory now and our days on market rose slightly which indicates market stabilization. my crystal ball is in the shop but I'd put money, and am because I'm still personally buying, on the market stabilizing in the next two months. we also have contributing factors such as Meta moving outside of Boise which will draw attention and Micron adding 15,000 jobs and 15 billion of infostructure to Boise.

Yes housing prices increased rapidly and when interest rates stopped being manipulated to be artificially low this had a negative effect on the housing market. 

Good properties are receiving multiple offers and go under contract very rapidly.

For bargains, I think Cedar Rapids would be a great place to look (don't buy in the floodplain) and there is a lot of activity and reasonable properties in the Davenport/Bettendorf, however the neighborhood are really hit and miss.

I vote for the 401(k) and increasing my total assets under my name as much and as rapidly as possible.

If I wanted to run a business, rehab to flip seems like the best way to grow income and capital rapidly. 

So, I 1031 exchanged them all and now am a principal in 8 apartment complexes in NE Ohio that have 122 front doors and they cash flow at $160,000 a year and rising at a rapid rate.You gotta know when to hold em, know when to fold em, know when to walk away and no when to run!!  

I'm trying to see how folks might go about rapidly increasing their income while still working a full-time job, and without building a side hustle.

The economy is so-so, moving from manufacturing to service but it have been a slow evolution.