While it's wonderful to plan, budget and buy a home you can afford, too many have unhealthy 'must own, must own' mentalities.
"I met some scorn talking about this back in the 2006 property boom. Yet now after price dips, rising repossessions and the first-time buyers' nightmare of raising monster mortgage deposits, maybe it's time to reappraise attitudes and bust myths.
"Too often non-home owners are depicted as an underclass. It's why I've met 21-year olds desperate to overstretch their tentative first pay packets and risk financial ruin just to buy.
"Owning is a nice goal, but you're no loser if you don't immediately clamber onto the housing ladder. Bigger-picture financial security is more important.
"Even after recent times some still say: 'Property prices may fall but not in [insert where they live].' Yet the only way to know that is with a crystal ball.
"Hot demand now could change if interest rates rise, and existing mortgages become less affordable � not a prediction, just a possibility. The money-savvy should always hope for the best, prepare for the worst."