In the past five years house prices have risen by nearly 50%, from what was already a record high. In 14 years I have moved house nine times, only once by my own choosing. Where wealth isn’t concentrated in a housing market that must therefore always continue to rise; and dignity in retirement isn’t based on having to own your house outright. My parents built their house on the suburban fringe of Sydney shortly after the birth of their first child, my brother. This is why our dark joke works: it has the smallest grain of truth within it, deep within its horror.

Source: The Guardian February 18, 2026 13:35 UTC