Can someone more worldly than I speak to any possible cultural factor here? By that I mean, is the desire to own property as deeply-rooted elsewhere in the world as it is, or at least seems to be, in America? Are people in Japan breaking their backs to own a home? How about Europe? Brazil?

I'm genuinely fascinated by this, because it really does seem like American society frowns upon people who don't own a home by a certain age, especially when children are involved, almost as if a backyard is absolutely fundamental to the child-rearing process.