this is probably the beginning of sharply declining developer salaries
That might well be true for FAANG-sized companies. Those businesses will pay start to pay less if they start embracing remote working (although right now they seem to be pushing for people to return to the office). It is not true for the rest of the IT world though. When developers can get remote jobs they're free to work for the highest paying company rather than whatever local IT industry there is. That pushes wages up if you're in Bumsville Idaho. Not to six-figures-for-a-junior levels, sure, but far more than you could earn before.
Overall I strongly suspect remote work will lead to developers earning more over the whole industry even if peak Bay Area wages drop a lot. Sucks if you work in the Bay I guess, and it sucks even more if you're a Bay Area landlord, but for the rest of us it's going to be awesome.
That might well be true for FAANG-sized companies. Those businesses will pay start to pay less if they start embracing remote working (although right now they seem to be pushing for people to return to the office). It is not true for the rest of the IT world though. When developers can get remote jobs they're free to work for the highest paying company rather than whatever local IT industry there is. That pushes wages up if you're in Bumsville Idaho. Not to six-figures-for-a-junior levels, sure, but far more than you could earn before.
Overall I strongly suspect remote work will lead to developers earning more over the whole industry even if peak Bay Area wages drop a lot. Sucks if you work in the Bay I guess, and it sucks even more if you're a Bay Area landlord, but for the rest of us it's going to be awesome.