High real estate prices don't help most economies. Neither do high oil prices, high energy prices, high raw-materials prices, high food prices, or other high prices.
Exceptions apply if your local economy is in that sector specifically, but this prosperity only comes at the expense of output everywhere else.
In the ultimate economy, everything is free and you can have as much as you want.
Exactly, high real estate costs just mean that the barrier to entry for new businesses is higher, and that margins (for businesses and individuals) are smaller.
