Salary : House prices ratio

Hello all,

Im new to investing and i have been reading as much as i can about real estate but i have a problem. Because all the books i have found are even 2 years old, the information is outdated. Like Steve's book. It mentions buying property for 40,000 in 2003. 

Now i have found the average salary in 2003 was about $40,000 for australia (varies in areas of course). Now its a few years on and salaries have not increased that much (couldnt find statistics but on what the average person earns its about the same) but property is much higher.
I dont think you could find a property for under 100,000 yet the salaries are the same. Does anyone know where to get proper statistics on this or can they help me with figures but to me it looks as if it is very hard to get into property on the average income nowadays unless you already own a property that you can sell/use equity on.

Am i wrong? Have salaries increased along with property or has property had a large leap recently and salaries have not?

Thanks all