alt Hacker NewsI do. Housing prices are constantly rising, when you take a loan you are buying an asset which (with some luck) may appreciate in value more than mortgage interest rates. That's why in some countries it's worth taking a loan as soon as possible without saving for too long.
Sure, without mortgage you may not be able to afford a house at all but it does not change the fact that mortgage is a "good" loan (i.e. you benefit from taking it)
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> Housing prices are constantly rising
Housing prices are _generally_ rising. It's entirely possible to buy a house and wind up selling it later, having lost money in it. Many times through no real fault.
> Housing prices are constantly rising
Housing prices typically appreciate up with inflation over the long run, although local markets don't always follow the same pattern. (IE, Silicon Valley is a case where real estate appreciated faster than inflation.)
Remember, it's over the long run. There can be periods where a house will appreciate faster than inflation, and other periods where the real value of a house doesn't keep up. If you understand this dynamic, you can make a lot of money. (IE, flipping and then becoming a landlord when the market turns.)
Mortgages with low interest rates are also one of the (main) reasons houses are so "expensive" in the first place.
The cheaper money (credit) is, the "higher" the prices will go.
It's not so much that houses became expensive, it's more that money to buy a house (specifically mortgages) became relatively cheaper. Low interest rates did that.