The problem is mortgages have normalized the purchase of far more house than one needs. Long repayments make it easy to commit to bigger, fancier, closer. Then one’s options are limited: the monthly payment must be made. Smaller sensible housing construction is demoted in favor of always a bit more, leaving few palatable options at low price points.
By the time most mortgage holders figure this out, they’re stuck. Real estate crashes don’t help.
Yes I’m bitter.
Yep, the free market is messy. It’s hard to use common sense. On the bright side, if you do use common sense, mortgage leveraged real estate can help you become independently wealthy in your retirement years.