why wouldn't you buy as much house as you can afford?
Because you may not have a job next month? You don't need the space? You have better things to spend the money on? Bigger houses come with bigger energy bills? While I do agree that the biggest factor here is economics (if people can't pay, they won't), I also think that there are other non-insignificant factors. Some of it is getting away from cars and houses as status symbols (a good thing), others are more practical (trying to offload a house while looking for a job is not easy). In this day and age, long-term employment is not a sure thing, so why settle down and grow roots when you'll only have to rip them out again?
Bigger utilities, bigger insurance costs, bigger property taxes, bigger maintenance bills, bigger repair costs. That's all lighting money on fire just like rent, but most people discount it.
Because you may not have a job next month? You don't need the space? You have better things to spend the money on? Bigger houses come with bigger energy bills? While I do agree that the biggest factor here is economics (if people can't pay, they won't), I also think that there are other non-insignificant factors. Some of it is getting away from cars and houses as status symbols (a good thing), others are more practical (trying to offload a house while looking for a job is not easy). In this day and age, long-term employment is not a sure thing, so why settle down and grow roots when you'll only have to rip them out again?