Having been a home owner since 1988 selling a few buying others I can tell you , being a home owner beats the Sh*t out of renting even in the bad times just as long as your not planning on selling for at least 10 years and your in no real danger of losing it anyway.
And of course you like the home and surrounds.
Good luck to you ,
One last point here , every home I sold, I Always regretted it later, with the exception of the one I sold in late 2004.
