Honestly I thought the US is one of the easiest places in the developed world to become a homeowner (even if you have average income), provided you're willing to not live in one of the super expensive places.
The US is relatively sparsely populated, while typical wooden homes take less labor and material to build.
It is. The "56" in the headline is skewed because of repeat buyers. Average age of first time buyers is 38, and that's skewed because of inflation/high interest rates of the last four years. It had been very steady around 30 for the last 50 years. Also, the 30 year fixed mortgage which is not as common abroad helps, but moreso when rates are low.
The US is relatively sparsely populated, while typical wooden homes take less labor and material to build.