Mine did the same in the early 80's on a cleaners salary, granted the money was better for cleaners back then (no several levels of contractors) and in a less d

Mine did the same in the early 80's on a cleaners salary, granted the money was better for cleaners back then (no several levels of contractors) and in a less desirable location (Gold Coast), but on my top decile for the country salary there's no way I could afford the same house today. It was also a single income household since they started a family about the same time. It shows how much our standard of living has dropped in four decades. > Among my college-educated friends, the only one's thinking of buying property are either high income (doctors, investment bankers) or buying in markedly worse (thus cheaper) areas than they lived in as children. Personally I scaled down expectations and bought a small "affordable" apartment. It's fine for me and achieves some financial stability but I wouldn't want to raise kids in one.