I was pretty annoyed when Archicad upgrades went from $695 every 18 months to $695 to every year. That's a HUGE (50%) increase in annual ownership cost. I still don't like it, since the last major upgrade was AC10, which was when they started charging more. I saw it as more cost for smaller upgrades.
Unfortunately, it just put Archicad on par with Revit for upgrade costs, so it's not like there's a BIM software with a lower cost of ownership. Check out prices on Digital Project, Tekla, or Constructor. Believe me, we could have it a lot worse.
Vectorworks is dramatically cheaper, but it is a case of getting what you pay for. It's nowhere near as developed as Archicad or Revit.
Software is moving closer to leasing a car, with nicer software costing more to lease. There are more and more programs moving to the software-as-a-service model, so it's something we may have to get used to as fewer professional-grade software are available in any other way.
I'm sure there are those who say they will vote for their wallet and they are likely to find that within a few years they just can't buy software any better than 3D Home Architect from Staples for $39.95.
Tom Waltz