[ansel12]

For one thing, people need to lower their dreamy expectations and find a home they can afford, dream houses are for rich people.

[Alberta's Child]

One shortcoming in these analyses is that they are based on comparisons of renting vs. owning within the same metro areas (which is how it should be done).

For young people who want to buy a home, the single most effective thing they can do is move somewhere else. Maybe you can’t afford to live in the suburban NYC town where you grew up, but if you relocate somewhere in the Midwest you could probably cut your housing cost in half while only losing about 20% of your take-home pay.