On the coasts this isn't true since long time home owners (like parents) have been in their houses for decades and are insulated from the crazy property value increases. If you are a 30-year old in San Francisco, the difference between living with your parents and paying 1/3 of the mortgage in a house they've owned for 20 years and living with a partner and paying 1/2 the rent of a new apartment would literally be somewhere on the order of $1,500/month.
IME: Apartments are expensive, and they have shitty features. Crappy sinks, bad laundry services, poor noise insulation, etc.
For many people, the options are: leave my parents large house, with nice amenities, and pay a lot of money to live in a crappy, small apartment for more money.
Grow as a fully functional individual with life skills and the ability to function independently or have decisions made for me and deal with bringing my friends, romantic partners, etc. around to meet my parents?
You're right, that's a very easy choice, but I think we reached different conclusions.
