This is a good observation. Nevertheless, the worst obstacle in owning a home is actually buying it. Ten or fifteen years downstream, your principal payment li

This is a good observation. Nevertheless, the worst obstacle in owning a home is actually buying it. Ten or fifteen years downstream, your principal payment likely represents a much smaller fraction of your income than it did when you bought the property, and you can renegotiate the mortgage in better times, as you say - so even the interest can be kept under control. But the first years of your first mortgage are a real challenge. You need to cough up the downpayment, you might have young kids to take care of, you might still be relatively low on the career ladder etc.