Takes longer than ever to pay off a home loan, but homes are still within people reach.
Bear in mind many people are buying fancy homes first time out, way out of their budget - when in the past first homes used to be very modest types of dwellings.
Couldn't agree more. My main consideration was location. I used to be a naturopath, and as callous as it sounds, people in outlying suburbs couldn't afford to come regularly. I made an honest effort to keep prices as low as possible, but you still have to pay rent, staff, medicines, utilities etc etc. I would have been happy with a one bedroom apartment - but in an area that would have been supportive for my business, even they were getting very pricey.
I'm hoping to leave Germany soon, but my wife and I were looking at a house here before Christmas. Completely renovated, built in 1400, an old monastery on a big block of land with 3 floors and 4 cellars. We would have paid the equivalent of $320 000 Aussie with nothing to do.
We didn't because it was too big for us and the real estate agent said if we found any old roman soldiers in the garden we were obligated to report it, and then suffer years of archeologists brushing away the backyard with their paintbrushes! And it was right next to the church. I like the bells - but not every hour of the day.