I own a house, but my sister doesn't. She does worry about the impact of high property prices on her future, but I've never heard her express the kind of pessim

I own a house, but my sister doesn't. She does worry about the impact of high property prices on her future, but I've never heard her express the kind of pessimism about the future of her life-in-general that you do. Her main focus right now is not property, it is trying to get into medicine. But that's the thing – so long as a person has a goal they are working towards, whatever the goal might be, that gives them hope and reason to live. When someone no longer has any goals that they believe are achievable, that's when they become hopeless.