People who become capable of buying a house have different options before them, which they dont consider objectively. Firstly whether to buy or rent, where most people go for the former based on some assumptions, even though they are not sure of staying in the same city or ability to maintain the property, collect rents, visit regularly, etc.
The second aspect is what type of house. Options range from individual home, flat, twin houses and choice of old and new homes. People get attracted and always fall in to the trap of buying the latest offering at a steep rate. Though they pay in installments, the costs get inflated very well putting them with no cash in hand or forcing them to go for a higher loan amount. If there is an existing used property (well maintained) available at a reasonable rate, and provided you have ready cash or loan its better to opt for the same instead of a brand new house.
Moreover as mentioned earlier some people ignore the purpose for which they buy a house, whether for investment or for self occupation. People who buy property away from their current residence or native cities have a tough time monitoring the property, maintaining it, etc and are left with an unmanagable investment which fetches low yield.
