HOME ownership is much on people’s minds these days. It combines two basic needs — shelter and security — into one expensive whole.That’s why a discussion of housing is always emotional. Threaten a person with the inability to satisfy the basic needs, and you could find yourself slugging it out on the Jerry Springer show.

Contrary to popular belief, house prices in Bermuda are not insane, ridiculous, or even out of whack. They are a reflection, essentially, of two factors: the supply of houses and the demand for them.

The Bermuda housing scene is a fairly pure market, with relatively few outside influences affecting it. Some real estate not being available to foreigners, mortgages up to and including 100 percent, and the unusually high fees of real estate agents are minor factors by comparison.

The force of both supply and demand is magnified at the moment by different pressures, and the combination is producing what for many house-owners is a nominal windfall, or a lack of affordable housing, depending on which side of the have/have not divide you fall. The dominant factors are the limited supply of land, and therefore of houses, and the consistent growth in demand for bigger and better homes, fuelled by Bermuda’s economic success. The resulting construction boom has not served to dampen consistently rising market prices.

Bermuda has not been alone in this experience. Sectors of the US, UK and other property markets in our trading partners have also risen rapidly of late. Housing has become commoditised. That means that where a house was once a home, it is now an investment that it just so happens you can live in, unlike other commodities such as gold or pork bellies.

Rising house prices are greeted with pleasure at a certain stage of the cycle, but are often reported these days as bad news in Bermuda. Why? Surely a rising tide raises all boats. Everyone’s house being worth more is a good thing, isn’t it?

The answer is “yes” — for those who own a house, or work in related fields — and “not necessarily” for those who don’t. In Bermuda, the expectation of home ownership is set too high. In no community in the world is it possible for everyone to own their own home. Capitalism produces winners and losers. Home ownership is an even less feasible expectation for all, given Bermuda’s limited land mass, high levels of personal income, and the pervasive notion that a home stands in its own grounds and is only one story high.

Home ownership, however, is only one route to a successful life. Many rent for their entire lives. Few Londoners or Parisians, and even fewer New Yorkers, dream of owning a house. Too many people, too little space. Too much demand, insufficient supply. So Bermuda is not unique in that regard.

Some Bermudians will have to adjust their thinking. The standard dream of home ownership for all, or perhaps one day most, is more or less over. In is slowly being replaced by a new dream, of apartment ownership, a condo, or the fractional ownership of a two-storey home; the top floor, say, or an apartment at one end of a larger home. Or an apartment in Hamilton, free of the woes of car ownership.

Such a property does not represent second place: it is a home and a chance to participate in the booming Bermudian economy. It will only feel like failure if you think of it that way. For others, the dream may never be in reach, but not owning a house is not the end of the world.

A house is not only expensive to buy; maintenance can be costly, at a time when you’ve committed your income to mortgage repayments.

A beautiful lawn has to be mowed, or someone has to be paid to do it. If it’s your roof, and it leaks, you have both the inconvenience and the bill. A mortgage is a much bigger psychological commitment than a lease. For these and a thousand other reasons, I have always preferred to rent, and have never felt that this was a sign of weakness or defeat. Renting has provided me with the flexibility to roam the world and live below my means, so that I can save towards my older age in, oh, 40 years or so.

Some convince themselves that their lives will be devalued if they don’t own a house at least as big as that of their parents, and a little larger than those of their peers. But — Bermuda’s 50-year march of almost uninterrupted growth has yielded what is now the world’s highest standard of living. That has compounded the rate of change, and perhaps of the profile of who can own a home in today’s Bermuda. The squeeze always bites hardest in the middle.

Bermudian housing is not going to become cheaper any time soon. If you’re on the ladder, good luck. As you already know, home ownership is a whole other thing, financially. If you want to own, there are strategies you can pursue. In the next few weeks, we’ll look at various aspects of the changing face of owning real estate in Bermuda in the 21st century.