Housing shortfall, costs and affordability

[creative]

It used to work really well in the past. Home ownership was affordable to many and renting as an alternative to ownership was also affordable. House prices and rents pretty much rose at the rate of inflation. The concept of real estate as an investment ruined this. I came up during a time when your house was not an investment but a place to live. You were also able to save for retirement in safe places that paid a decent return on those investments.