> IF you paid off a house in 5 years, you bought way less house than you could afford.
Of course I did, that's the whole point to me. Moving to a location with a nice quality/standard of living with housing available far below my income so that it's not a financial burden. Everyone has a different goal - a small, modest house in a nice place to live is all many of us ask. And not being in debt.
> Home ownership (especially for $500k+) is heavily subsidized in the USA
A really nice house (nicer than mine for sure, even a brand new build) here is 250k. 500k buys a lot of house here (miniature mansions in some places), there are plenty of nice places to live in the USA for 150-250k. I just checked Zillow, where I grew up half way across the country (where parents still live) is the same prices as here. Not everyone lives in an overly expensive housing market or wants a massively large house/land.
Of course I did, that's the whole point to me. Moving to a location with a nice quality/standard of living with housing available far below my income so that it's not a financial burden. Everyone has a different goal - a small, modest house in a nice place to live is all many of us ask. And not being in debt.
> Home ownership (especially for $500k+) is heavily subsidized in the USA
A really nice house (nicer than mine for sure, even a brand new build) here is 250k. 500k buys a lot of house here (miniature mansions in some places), there are plenty of nice places to live in the USA for 150-250k. I just checked Zillow, where I grew up half way across the country (where parents still live) is the same prices as here. Not everyone lives in an overly expensive housing market or wants a massively large house/land.