An interesting letter to the editor in the April 21, 1908 NYT offers advice that would have been useful for many people, say, about five years ago:

This craze of home owning is widespread, and is especially rampant among naturalized Americans. It is one of the first impulses that they get after reaching this country. The reason is clear. The possibilities of home owning on the Continent are remote, with the result that the ownership of a home is a cherished longing....the children of many a family have grown up in want owing to the insatiable longing of the parents to own the home that they live in. They save nothing by it, but on the other hand run the risk of incumbering themselves with unsalable property. They have the delusion that they are not paying rent; but they are paying rent and probably more than they can afford.

The advice that I would give is to select a house or flat well within one's means and put the balance of the savings regularly in the bank. If an opportunity in another part of the country then comes one will not find his movements hampered by the necessity of maintaining an unprofitable investment. The American people are essentially nomadic. They cannot be otherwise, with new regions to exploit, new towns to found, and new opportunities to grasp.

It is my firm conviction that no man should own his own home until he has prosperously passed the age of sixty years.

The last statement I would not agree with, but the "advice" paragraph is spot on.