[bigbootch]

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I think bigbootch is right, the buy vs rent debate is much more complicated than people give it credit for, mostly b/c they don't consider that paying interest and property taxes, like paying rent, is "throwing money away", and they just assume the former is fine "b/c it's a write-off" but they rarely run the #'s to see exactly how much $ the write-off saves them.

also they don't consider that leverage works both ways.

also also they don't consider that we're in the middle of the biggest housing boom since the depression.

also also also (related to above) they don't consider what they could do with their money if it wasn't in a house.

mostly it comes down to your personal situation, how important a house vs. home is and all other personal factors.

and then on top of this, there is the strategy of buying a 2 or 3 family, which is often a better investment than a 1 family.



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You and I are pretty much 100% on the same page. I would emphasize that the decision often comes down to the personal factors as you said, for example:

1. You really want to live in a 1800 sq ft 2-bedroom, and those are very difficult to find in the rental market but you can easily find one if you were to buy.

2. You are sure that you want to live in that city for the next 5+ years, and you want the guarantee that you won't have to move around.

3. Your wife insists on it.

You get the idea. As a pure dollar EV problem (ignoring the personal factors listed above), it is difficult to justify buying real estate over putting it into sp500 / bond market or something like that. But the personal factors are very important to many people.