Home price inflation is a problem for almost everyone. As I mentioned a while back, if my siblings insist on getting their share of the market price of the house, I'm out on the streets. Basically, I need $600K or more live on for the rest of my life. I might end up with $275K from my third of the house, and another $100K from 1/3 of my mother's assets. The total of my savings and retirement accounts at this point is roughly $500K, but if I had to liquidate that to come up with money to buy a place, I'd clear maybe $400K after taxes. So do the math. Maybe $775K total, but after accounting for what I need for living expenses at best I'd have ~$200K left. You can't buy anything for that price anywhere, much less in a place where you don't need a car, which is really the only feasible living arrangement for me. And if I had to buy a car, then figure that adds another $200K I'd need for lifetime living expenses, basically leaving me with nothing to buy a place.
If I get the house free and clear, of course I'd give my siblings my share of my mother's assets. They can think of it as a $50K down payment each on their share of the house. If things go well for me in the future of course I'd give them more, but they couldn't count on it. If I stay here, my total expenses, including food, fall around $1,600/month. That'll drop to $1,300 when I get the senior citizen's real estate tax break when I turn 65. I can comfortably handle that without putting myself in the poor house.
Merc, the advantage to owning a home, assuming you can afford it, is that it's cheaper than an apartment once it's paid for (i.e. rents now in my area are well over $3K/month plus utilities), and you're not on pins and needles when lease renewal time comes up. The latter is a big reason I'd never rent, even if it cost only $500/month. If the landlord raises your rent beyond what you can pay, or simply refuses to renew your lease, it's moving time with all the hassles that implies. Then you often have to deal with vermin from slobs in other apartments. We had a major roach infestation when we lived in a housing project back when I was a kid.
I have my mother's bedroom spare, so I could in theory get two housemates if I wanted to. For now I don't need the money, plus in NYC it's a hassle to kick people out if they don't pay the rent.
Sed, I'm totally onboard not ending up in a housing arrangement I can't easily afford by myself. In fact, that was why I stayed with my parents. Back in the late 1980s average rents were 75% of my take-home pay. Add in my student loan payments, and there would be nothing left for food. I banked most of my pay, the goal being to save up, and move out once I could buy a house with cash. Unfortunately, home prices kept rising faster than I could save, so I never left home. Also, I really don't like living alone. The only thing which might have got me to leave was a significant other. Besides the company, we would be able to split expenses. Even better, if we both stayed with our parents and saved, buying a home outright with cash in less than 10 years might have been realistic, even with home prices going up faster than inflation. After the housing project, there was no way I'd ever want to live in apartment again. Unfortunately, my love life ended up a big fat zero, so here I am at 61 depending upon the good graces of my siblings to continue to have a place to live.