Ya, both of those points have been crossing my mind a lot lately. To spme extent I'm sure a lot of people are spending that money on random trips or consumables since there's such a gulf between buying even a very high end sports car or live-in van and a basic home.

I also don't think there's much of a concept of buying a starter condo that's significantly discounted but could be fixed up. Sure, you can redo the walls maybe and the finishes, but if the building had serious structural problems you're screwed, asbestos you're screwed, bad roof, no plumbing accomodation for in-suite laundry etc etc