True with renting you don’t own the place, but typically there is a savings in renting, and after 30 years of accumulating that savings you can end up with more cash depending on your rate or return.
Since the claim is the market typically returns 10%/yr you’d likely end up better than a house that returns 2-4%/yr. And you’d still have to sell the house.[/quote]
I think you must be leaving equity and the beneficial proportionate cash flow shift of later years of owning out of the picture. The person who has not accomplished home ownership often uses up or uses a good portion, of their assets or retirement benefits or to provide shelter(to taste) in their later years.
Rent impedes one’s ability to invest the same as a mortgage does. Rent impedes it in perpetuity and gets worse with time as compared to a fixed mortgage. People are bothered by risk and poor returns now but they could be cutting into future costs of shelter with those poorly performing investment dollars instead.
I am assuming we are considering reasonable timing in the purchase of a house or condo and rent at or near their initital mortgage payment threshold.
