One of the trends that I can only hope continues is getting rid of this idea that home ownership (especially single family home ownership) is the American dream. I live in and own a detached single family home (was a compromise with my spouse) and to be honest, I hate it. I hate having to take care of the yard, to deal with unreliable tradespeople when things break, to deal with the huge expense of minor home repairs…
I've gone the full cycle from renting -> own -> renting, and I can tell you that you're forgetting about a lot of the limitations that come with renting. There are a huge number of things that are out of your control and hobbies you simply can't have. Especially if you want to compare apartment to SFH. You can't paint the walls, keep a bicycle outside, grow plants you want, have any loud hobbies, BBQ, even keep your…
For example, "Social Benefits of Homeownership and Stable Housing" (https://realtoru.edu/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Homeownershi...)
"Research has consistently shown the importance of the housing sector on the economy and the long-term social and financial benefits to individual homeowners. The economic benefits of the housing market and homeownership are immense and well-documented. [...] In addition to tangible financial benefits, homeownership brings substantial social benefits for families, communities, and the country as a whole."
(Yeah, I know everyone is going to hate the "NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS" bit. But the citations and such seem reasonable. An older version is at https://www.nar.realtor/sites/default/files/migration_files/...) "Reexamining the Social Benefits of Homeownership after the Housing Crisis" (https://www.jchs.harvard.edu/sites/default/files/hbtl-04.pdf):
"Turning to the policy implications, federal homeownership promotion effects have been at least partially justified by claims that homeownership creates better citizens, results in healthier neighborhoods, and provides a range of other social benefits. Thus, it is important to assess the validity of those claims. This is not to say that other good reasons for supporting homeownership do not exist, only that if homeownership is not generating the claimed social benefits, we should stop using them as a justification.
"The updated literature review presented above does provide support for several social benefits of homeownership. Even after taking self-selection and other confounding factors into account there is considerable evidence that positive homeownership experiences result in greater participation in social and political activities, improved psychological health, positive assessments of neighborhood, and high school and post-secondary school completion. The jury is still out, however, on several other claims including improved physical health, and both the cognitive abilities and positive behaviors of children."