Despite some meandering, the occasional red-herring, and the need for every thread to include the words straw man and ad hominem , the opposing points seem to have evolved to 2 primary issues :
1. Monthly costs of carrying the mortgage in esmith’s example is equivalent to rent at $2700 per month, plus a few hundred bucks. Therefore buying in this particular price/range and associated tax bracket is really not that much more expensive on a monthly cash flow basis.
2. The risks to buying in this particular example, however include the dead money put towards downpayment (opportunity cost), risk of job loss, risk of further erosion of principle, risk of large expenses related to property maintenance/repair.
Just an opinion, but in the current environment, it would seem that for most the risks would outweigh the fact that renting and owning are roughly equivalent, except in cases where one has significant other assets outside the down payment. (e.g. a few hundred K in retirement savings already or 50-100K cash).
