The Homeownership Society Was a Mistake
“At the core of American housing policy is a secret hiding in plain sight: Homeownership works for some because it cannot work for all. If we want to make housing affordable for everyone, then it needs to be cheap and widely available. And if we want that housing to act as a wealth-building vehicle, home values have to increase significantly over time. How do we ensure that housing is both appreciating in value for homeowners but cheap enough for all would-be homeowners to buy in? We can’t.”
Demsas is doing some of the best writing about the housing situation of anyone around. I came to the realization long ago that you can't house everyone and treat housing as a wealth generating asset, it will never work. On top of that, as Demsas mentions in a different section of the article, luck plays a huge role in whether you make money off of your house or not, so maybe, just maybe, it's time for real change in how we handle housing.