Even if it never does, owning a home may still be a wealth building proposition for two reasons: you are locking in your housing costs with a fixed-rate mortgage while rents continue to rise, and your mortgage will be paid off at some point in the future.
Another tactic: locking in prices with tailored multiyear agreements with formulas governing whether clients grant or refuse a requested rate increase.
Since the launch of the euro, moreover, Italy's debt managers have managed to extend the average term of its borrowing to almost seven years, locking in then-prevailing interest rates and ensuring that less of the outstanding debt is subject to abrupt rate increases.