True, but using homes as a wealth building instrument is (one of) the root problems in both the case of people not being able to own homes and homelessness.
I rant because, well, its just plain nuts, but I don't have answers.
I do think we need a paradigm shift in this regard though and I think it's inevitable, just a matter of how much pain it causes.
Very high property taxes with homestead exemptions (reductions when you live in the house as a primary residence) might be part of the solution.
But the biggest one is letting property developers go wild. SF and the south bay have been doing very much the opposite for a very long time.
Also, Prop 13 needs to be phased out. It's completely killing liquidity in the market, and removes any incentive for homeowners to not want rampant home value increases, which encourages them to prevent property developers from doing their thing.
I rant because, well, its just plain nuts, but I don't have answers.
I do think we need a paradigm shift in this regard though and I think it's inevitable, just a matter of how much pain it causes.