Steve,
I think we can quickly agree that personal experience in other locations/countries doesn't add much to finding a logical answer to the true value of a lot in/around Dumaguete.
To illustrate, I'm thinking that if someone's experience is limited to say living in Alaska or North Dakota, then even if they were to move inside the United States to say Maryland or Florida they would still get a nasty surprise if they would expect similar prices for land.
Why? Well, population density comes to mind and for Florida (and Maryland to a lesser degree) the climate thing also. Then there's a difference in economic activity in the 4 areas, which translates in rather big differences in available average income and wealth.
If I were to compare my personal experience before I came to the Philippines with landprices here then here is incredibly cheap (because in the Netherlands land is rather expensive).
So, I am thinking that personal experience will add a psychological factor for the individual when comparing price levels, but it is best to leave out "feelings" when making an investment, as I am sure you will agree.

Yes, true, average income in the Philippines is a lot lower. Average is not the same as median by the way.
The problem with that is that in a developing nation like the Philippines, the average income is meaningless. That is because there is a very large income inequality here, and a wealth distribution that is even worse.
And yes I know, both those statistics may remind you of the USA, where they are similarly in "american dream" land for a few and "living paycheck to paycheck" for most.
Still, the number of people (locals) who are able to afford a nice house, nice car, etc. is growing in the Philippines, (most likely helped by avoiding to pay income tax).

Yes, land in the Philippines is not the same as land in the USA. Lacking infrastructure (roads etc.) and nature confine 95% of the population to a narrow coastal strip of land on most islands. Likewise, the building lots you would be interested in are also in that narrow coastal strip. Moreover, the Philippines has a population density of around 400 per square kilometer and that number doesn't take the "coastal strip" aspect into account.
In comparison, the USA has around 35 people per square km. In other words, land here is scarce compared to the USA, more so if you take into account the coastal strip thing.

There is no such thing as a "sensible" ratio of income to property prices.
There is maybe a relation between the income of those who are wealthy enough to consider buying property or can qualify for a mortgage (which in the Philippines would be a small portion of the population) and the prices for land, but "wealthy" has little to do with current income.

Oh I am sure you can buy some farmland cheaply out in the mountains without electricity, water and road access, but not anywhere where you or me would consider building a house.

Continuing fast economic development and inflation will keep up demand from well to do locals, and the ongoing promotion of Dumaguete as a superior place to retire will do the same for demand from foreigners (whether they rent or buy doesn't really matter, they still have an impact on prices).
We don't disagree about much of the asking prices for real estate in the Dumaguete area though (way overpriced), as you may have already concluded from my earlier posts in this thread.

 

I am not sure that it is possible for us to 'disagree' about anything either of us said. We both have opinions, which overlap to a great degree. My post that you responded to was not to convince anyone about anything. I realized I consistently posted about the ridiculous cost of real estate here and wanted to clarify why that was true for ME.

I suppose a shorter explanation we have been something like. If/when I decide to anchor myself to a property, it will have a much higher value(to me) to cost ratio than available in the Dumaguete area. For comparison, I would no longer be a buyer at these prices in the US either, I would buy in an area that was less expensive.