Rory Sutherland (Ogilvy) has a thought experiment I just love.
Imagine every car on the road is electric.
And someone tries to sell you a petrol one:
– It's loud and pushes smoke out of a pipe.
– You fill the tank with a highly flammable, foul-smelling liquid that can catch fire and explode.
– You can only fill it at special stations. Not at home.
– You can't make the fuel yourself. A solar panel won't help you here.
– The engine has thousands of parts, pressure, tubes and constant controlled explosions inside.
– You change gears by hand, or with an automatic that still accelerates slower. Want it faster? That engine costs a fortune.
Would you buy it?
From this angle it sounds absurd.
And yet millions of people buy exactly that today, and find arguments for it. Not because they're stupid, but because they're human. Change is hard, and whatever we're used to feels normal simply because we're used to it. So every new alternative gets denial first, and only later "well, obviously, how else?"
Now apply the same test to living in a home.
Imagine a different way to live.
Your home is cosy, safe and designed around you. If it stops fitting, you switch – as easily as changing hotels. Nothing to repair, nothing to maintain. You pay a monthly fee, but in reality the home works for you and earns on the side, a bit like the Cybercab vision: it takes you where you need to go, and the rest of the time it makes money for you. Either way, housing becomes a small part of your expenses, not the biggest one.
And then someone offers you "ownership" as it exists today:
– You commit to a bank for 30 years and, with interest, pay for the home almost twice.
– Every time you change homes you lose up to 10% of its value – taxes, notary, moving, repairs in the new place – and go through a lot of stress on top of it.
– Repairs, maintenance, breakdowns, warranties, contractors – all on you.
– Neighbours you never chose vote on your roof, your heating and your facade.
– Want to move to another city? Sell first, then buy: two transactions, months of waiting and stress.
– The price depends on things you don't control.
Would you buy it?
We do. Because there's no alternative. Yet.
I've spent 22 years on the selling side of housing, and I put my heart into making that process easier. But I'm not afraid to dream about how much better the whole thing could be.