Can't help with the specific questions. But I guarantee it's not just Americans having the same conundrum.
Things have changed a lot in just 1 generation. Incomes don't stretch as far. I think all the warnings by others are valid. You wouldn't want to regret overspending and being a slave of a 20 year loan while things fall apart around you and you can't just cancel the lease as you could as a tenant. There are things you can't do anything about such as changing neighbourhood demographics that you didn't bargain for (like a mosque being built a few streets away - speaking from experience), the market itself, the economy, interest rates, threats to your income, rising property taxes etc.
Homeownership isn't "the dream" any longer. The stigma of renting is a thing of the past.
Things have changed a lot in just 1 generation. Incomes don't stretch as far. I think all the warnings by others are valid. You wouldn't want to regret overspending and being a slave of a 20 year loan while things fall apart around you and you can't just cancel the lease as you could as a tenant. There are things you can't do anything about such as changing neighbourhood demographics that you didn't bargain for (like a mosque being built a few streets away - speaking from experience), the market itself, the economy, interest rates, threats to your income, rising property taxes etc.
Homeownership isn't "the dream" any longer. The stigma of renting is a thing of the past.