Getting a mortgage is the easiest way to build wealth through government subsidized leverage (mortgage interest deduction).
Second, your mortgage interest (plus other deductions) need to be high enough to warrant itemizing deductions. At the start of 2021, my mortgage balance was $270K with a rate of 2.275%. Even including a $7,000 donation to charity, it wasn't enough for my wife and I to itemize.
That said, it's much better to mortgage than pay cash for reasons outlined already in this thread.
I literally said “deduction”. Who did you think you were replying to?
Would you say that mortgage is probably driven down 8% because just can't afford the down payment anymore, or people like me who seem to have an irrational aversion to it?
Over the last two or so years, mortgage rates hit historic lows, which meant the demand for cheap mortgages increased significantly, both from people wanting to enter the market and those refinancing. Consider that the $500k mortgage that would have cost $2300/mo in 2019 suddenly costs like $1600/mo in 2021.
Absolutely I jumped on that train, as many others did. Lenders were overwhelmed and had to hire a lot to meet this demand.
If you missed that window, well rates are above what they were pre-pandemic, looking back at least a decade, so refinancing for lower payments no longer makes sense for most borrowers. People still are buying homes, but high prices and that disappeared “once-in-a-lifetime deal” are going to suppress demand.
Which is why you often see houses being purchased by new families, the kids are the first thing that really begins to put down roots (as you don't want to move them from their school/friends).
It is also capped at $750k of mortgage debt, which is not much for the 10% of filers who are itemizing and using the deduction.