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estearum 6 hours ago | parent | next [-]

It was a US-specific thing created by massive post-war infrastructure investment (read: suburban sprawl) and cheap automobiles.

This entire problem more or less resolves to the cost of land. It became effectively super-cheap post-WW2 for the aforementioned reasons. Now we've run out that runway and will face rolling bankruptcies across all sorts of municipalities due to infra maintenance costs.

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archonis 6 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Working class parents in their 20s in the USA could afford to buy their own homes well into the 2000s. Some got burned by cyclical factors, high interest, etc...; but many still achieved sustained lifetime home ownership.

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amanaplanacanal 6 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Possibly. I bought my first house in my 20s in the US, this would have been in 1980s. I remember the 12.5% interest on the mortgage.

	▲	memcg 4 hours ago \| parent [-]
		We bought our house in 1982 with a 15.5% mortgage rate, refinanced to 11.25 in 1985, then 8.5 in 1987.

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singingtoday 6 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

I don't buy that because China has very high home ownership rates.

So it can be done. Even today.

	▲	flohofwoe 6 hours ago \| parent [-]
		China is arguably currently also in an exceptional situation though. The question is how long that lasts. The next generation or the one after will most likely also complain that their parents were much better off when they were young ;)

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simmerup 6 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

I guess you’re not British either then?

	▲	flohofwoe 6 hours ago \| parent [-]
		German, of course ;) The German equivalent is that everybody is complaining about rising rents in city centers because everybody wants to live in city centers. Home ownership in Germany basically means that you'll have to pay it off for the rest of your life anyway (and that's not a new phenomenon) so in the end there isn't all that much difference to renting finance-wise, except that renting is usually much less hassle.

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slopinthebag 6 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Not just US - UK, Canada, Australia, etc.

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jorgeBanana 6 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

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