>I think for many the only alternative is renting.
Indeed it is, and that's kinda my point. These were the $8,000 starter homes our working class grandparents bought on a single salary from Sears in their 20s. Now they are a stretch goal for middle aged dual income families.
Of course not. There are plenty of circumstances that would change the order. But that'd be my 'all things being equal' ranking. I had hoped it was implied that I'd prefer to rent a non-haunted condo over owning a haunted mansion.
