If there is a house shortage - prices will go up - the problem with the dev job market is that's its a market for lemons. You cant tell if someone is a good dev unless you yourself is a good dev.

Not even then, until you've hired them. Interviewing is a joke.

Yeah, and even "good engineers" can take jobs that they don't do well at. It's weird how this works and seems in many cases not related only to the job or type of work, but many factors both on and off the job. I think this is the reason hiring is so hard, because there are factors not taken into account that have a real effect on how well a person does at some particular job.