A mortgage is often framed as responsible adulthood, but it is also a forced bet on a volatile market. You take on decades of debt and hope that employment, interest rates, and neighborhood values remain favorable. The system celebrates this gamble because it channels enormous profits to lenders and reinforces price inflation. Decommodification changes the role of credit: loans support access to shelter rather than fuel a speculative arms race.
In a decommodified system, housing prices track construction cost and maintenance instead of speculative demand. That lowers the amount you need to borrow in the first place. The debt burden becomes manageable, and the financial risk of owning or renting decreases. You are not locked into a 30-year payment plan just to meet a basic need.
Credit rules can reinforce this shift. Lending can be structured to prioritize owner-occupancy and cooperative models, with stricter limits on leverage for multiple properties. Banks can be required to consider long-term habitability and cost efficiency rather than short-term market appreciation. Public or cooperative lenders can offer stable, low-cost financing that is tied to use and stewardship.
This is not about eliminating credit. It is about ending the cycle where rising loans create rising prices, which then justify larger loans. That spiral turns housing into a debt-driven pyramid. Decommodification breaks the feedback loop. You can finance a home without inflating prices for everyone else.
For you, the difference is psychological as well as financial. You are not forced into a single, leveraged asset just to avoid rent escalation. You can make housing decisions based on your life rather than your ability to manage risk. Debt becomes a tool, not a trap.