There was an analysis on HN not too long ago that extrapolated real estate and stock market valuations back 150 years or so and concluded that the return on investment for both were roughly at pairity.
Buy an index fund.
Buy an index fund.
Yes but you don't have to pay the same amounts. There's a reason "rent-or-buy" calculators exist.
Rent, 4 or 5 year economic slump and people are out of a home.
Ownership doesn't lead to this. Even mortgages have more forgiveness for late payment than most rental agreements.
Multi-generational property ownership also helps. Buy a good house now, and your kids/grand kids have insurance against economic downturns.
I rented a 1.3m home in CA for $3,500/month, made no sense to buy at that level other than a forced savings program.