Prices of corals in general seems to be rising -- I have seen the change in prices compared to last year from the wholesellers.
Few factors affecting this:
1) It seems that the "collectors" seem to collect the same type of corals in bulk, and then move on to the next one, and then the next, etc. So last year, the prices of euphyllia (hammers/frogspawn/torches) wasn't "too" bad (it was still more expensive than what you can purchase frogspawn/hammers for from local reefers). But now that the supply has somewhat exhausted, they're not available in as much abundance.
2) There are SO MANY wholesale places opening, and there's a lot more competition. Normally this would be good for the prices, but in this industry, the opposite seems to be happening. There's only so much supply, but more wholesellers are fighting for it; so the prices are going up. In turn, those spiked prices are passed down to the local retailers.
3) Retailers will sell for whatever the end-consumer is willing to pay. I have seen the so-called "yellow hammers", which are just super super bright green hammers (not true yellow) sell for $300/head. Do they really cost that much? Well ... we are selling them for $80/head ... so that says something
Those are the top 3 that come to mind.
In any case, it's fun to notice these small things and trends in the hobby ... great topic.