It's not that homeownership deferred until 40 "doesn't feel good". It's that we've missed out on a decade of housing security—a material condition that impacts both physical and social well-being.
It also drastically changes opportunities. Hard to get into welding or machining or smithing from an apartment. Hard to start a business when you can't take any financial risks because housing is half your take-home and you'd be risking homelessness within months.
Let's not even get into how healthcare premium are over half of what minimum rent costs in my town.
A decade or two ago I talk with a 90 year old who bought, sold and especially exchanged everything not bolted down since he was 12. He had a crappy shed he filled with all kinds of garbage/treasures. I wouldn't call it a business. He did have businesses later on but that wasn't his primary activity. He would trade some old wood stoves for goats that he traded for a boat. That's not a business model is it? He obtained one classic car that took many years to get back on the road. Not really a business? I barely knew the guy but know enough hilarious stories to fill a book. Without that shed however he wouldn't have happened.
