> Too many people have an emotional stake in home ownership as its own end, and they would be better off seeing it as a tradeoff made coldly.

This assumes risk neutrality. If rents go up to where someone is priced out, their kid lose their school, and all sorts of other Bad Stuff happens. Home ownership with a mortgage is stable.

Home ownership once the mortgage is paid off means your life is stable even in a crisis, job loss, or economic downturn; you can rent out a room, and so long as you bring in enough for food and taxes, you stay alive and you're not homeless.

For most people, home ownership is a rational choice. It doesn't maximize expected future $$$, but it does maximize expected future outcomes.