That, or having bought their first property long enough ago, and in the right place, that it's appreciated massively more than the place in the country that they've got their eye on. The property ladder is, possibly was, a thing.
Still is, at least to an extent. Bought a house 10 years ago for $110k, and while I’ve paid down about $30k of that between my modest down payment and 10 years of mortgage payments, the house has appreciated ~2x, meaning that I could potentially bring a $100k down payment to a new property. Even with everything else appreciating in the meantime, that makes viable many more options than I would have had if those mortgage payments had been rent checks.
That, or having bought their first property long enough ago, and in the right place, that it's appreciated massively more than the place in the country that they've got their eye on. The property ladder is, possibly was, a thing.
Still is, at least to an extent. Bought a house 10 years ago for $110k, and while I’ve paid down about $30k of that between my modest down payment and 10 years of mortgage payments, the house has appreciated ~2x, meaning that I could potentially bring a $100k down payment to a new property. Even with everything else appreciating in the meantime, that makes viable many more options than I would have had if those mortgage payments had been rent checks.