Or when a stroke of fate turns your whole life upside down and a house becomes a burden in case of doubt.
However, the focus on the moment or rather the short-term horizon as well as the function "I need living space" are ways of thinking that are rather unusual in Germany, "a house is a life decision." Similarly, the example of a car. Leasing is devil's stuff, expensive blah blah and the car should preferably be paid off.
If it no longer fits your life, there is nothing against selling it again or passing it on to children and looking for something more suitable. I would rather have an easy-to-care-for apartment with a nice view at retirement than an unused floor where I curse every time I have to climb the stairs.
When I say that I probably won’t live in our new building in old age, people always look at me strangely, the worst being the generation one older. It fits the life situation with children and family; in old age it is too big and too much effort.
Regardless of all the philosophical approaches (as so often), it changes little about the situation of the combination of "too little income with too little equity, too low a savings rate with too high desires." Unfortunately, also all negatively influencing factors :( which make it seem difficult to impossible in the here and now.