The wealthier end of the spectrum is not buying $500,000 homes as these homes are in ghettos like Buena Park and Anaheim. The wealthier households buy in Irvine and Tustin Ranch which have average home prices close to a million dollars.
We are talking about half a million median in solidly blue collar neighborhoods like Buena Park and Orange. Especially Orange, not sure what is going on there because the demographics there are all Blue collar yet homes are way north of half million.