I am puzzled by the fascination in American politics with home ownership and home ownership as an investment. I admit, for a time I was under its spell, but after running a few numbers, I've decided that there is little benefit to home ownership over renting. People often point to tax benefits to owning a house. Then there are the subsidized mortgage loans offered by the Fair Housing Authority and others. Since those are applied relatively uniformly, all they do is inflate the price. After all, if everyone gets more money, they'll simply pay more. Even worse, the tax benefits are skewed toward the lower end of the market, meaning it is the cheapest houses that are inflated the most. When you think about it, it makes sense that the market would price renting and owning at rough parity; the two being out of step with each other would result in a net movement of people to compensate, correcting the imbalance.
Since most people (including me) buy their homes with loans, they don't actually own the homes outright; they have exchanged a landlord for a banker. I believe that the direct costs of home ownership are played down; I'm about to drop 5 large on new AC/furnace and attic insulation. Then there's $300 to repair my garage door, a few hundred for the bug man, and, of course, property taxes. When you add it all up, it's a substantial amount to pay on an ongoing basis, not to mention that it is your problem instead of someone else's.
People often talk about building up equity in a house, but that should be looked at like any other investment. If you subtract the cost of renting a roughly equivalent dwelling from the cost of "owning" it and invest that difference in a mutual fund, you'll come out about even, give or take. Now, if you live in a place where housing prices are increasing faster than the stock market, you'll come out ahead, but it could just as easily go the other way.
Don't take this to mean I think it's a bad idea to buy a house. I'm just saying that if you're going to buy, you should do it because you want to. There are tangible benefits. It's hard to rent a nice house, so if you want a house rather than a condo or apartment, you will have to buy. Sometimes you can get a really good mortgage rate, but low rates generally coincide with low rents; however, if inflation is high, it can be an advantage to have a locked-in payment. Sometimes, the only option in an area you favor is buying due to the nature of the area. And sometimes you just want hot pink walls. But don't let anyone tell you that home ownership is always a good investment, because it isn't. You can get lucky, but you can't count on it; the factors are usually things out of your hands. There are benefits to buying, but there are benefits to renting. Focus on the non-financial aspects, because the money doesn't matter.