If your grandparents were born in the 1920s they'd have been adult in the 50s, and outhouses were already rare except in rural areas. The 40s/50 building boom built suburbia, not shacks with outhouses.

Let's look at some real numbers instead of a folksy parable about grandma. Here are recent stats about rent arrears:

https://www.baselane.com/resources/unpaid-rent-debt-statisti...

And rental affordability:

In 2026, a full-time worker needs to earn $34.73 per hour to afford a modest two-bedroom rental home in the U.S. and $29.19 to afford a modest one-bedroom rental.

https://nlihc.org/oor/about

And mortgage affordability:

https://www.visualcapitalist.com/median-house-prices-vs-inco...

None of these are heading in the right direction.