Related to your last post regarding debt in the US, yeah, I had the cycle in mind, that's why I added that caveat - there's also a slight cultural component of more inherent optimism in the US, I think. In Italy, many families have accumulated property during the 70s and 80s, so many people my age tend to inherit property, that changes the ordeal a bit, since you only have to get into debt for the price differential between what you inherit and what you wish to buy.
