In 2005, the homeownership rate for U.S. households headed up by someone under the age of 35 was approximately 43 percent. Today, it is sitting at about 36 percent.
I paid $1600 a month to rent a home in the Seattle area that, had I bought it, I would have been looking at $3600 a month payments and property taxes.
Buy a 4,000 square foot house at age 25 and you're asking for a bruising unless you have a trust fund or a pro sports contract.
Home ownership is still the best avenue to financial security. The problem back in the 2000's was too many people thought that home ownership was a SHORTCUT to financial security. They took out short-sighted loans (interest-only, variable interest rates, etc.) loans and leveraged themselves to the hilt thinking that they could turn around in a few years and make a killing by selling.
The way to security via home ownership is by buying a home you can afford, borrowing using conventional terms and holding onto the home for a long time (decades, not just years). Over time the fixed payments become less and less of a challenge to manage due to rising incomes (due to our increasing work experience and plain old inflation). There may be dramatic downturns on property values, but over time, they always increase.
The first several years of home ownership are always tough. The payments are at their highest (relative to one's earning power) and there are repairs and modifications that need to be made usually when one first goes into a used home. During these years we all sacrifice, which means fewer meals out... we can't be first in line to buy the latest most expensive gadget/car... those things will come in time when our payments (relative to our earnings) diminish.