Life-cycle events and housing demand

The most interesting thing I saw in a recent article on tips for first-time homebuyers was an acknowledgement, in the third point, "Bow to the unknowns," about upcoming life-cycle events that may be financial game-changers. For example, childbearing and the desire to keep one parent at home rather than working. Another is the possibility of career change or long-term unemployment. Investing in housing is reversible, but it is not without cost, and it ideally requires a fairly long-range and accurate forecast of income and housing consumption needs.