That 'problem' is caused by regulation, structural regulation, not day-to-day regulatory enforcement or change. So where does that risk 'go'? Where do you suggest? What can regulators do to un-risk the risk that's been un-risked/passed on from those that take out mortgages?
But I don't know the details of how the market works. Wouldn't surprise me if there are other quirks at play.
If you rent for the same period of time, you piss away literally hundreds of thousands of dollars of home equity which you and your heirs can benefit from. But let's piss all over the greatest tool society ever created for creating generational wealth, because it's "capitalist," and that means it's icky.
So while paying off a 30 year mortgage might have been to pay off the house and keep it forever, that's not how Americans treat it. They basically use it as a way to get 10-20x leverage on housing prices speculation, and if they profit, cash out 7 years later and do it again with a new house.
It's 13.2 years. And perhaps it shouldn't be. There's lots of foregone opportunities when you stick in a home and don't move to better employment.