In the US, mortgage interest is tax deductible whereas rent is not. The more you earn (and thus the higher your tax bracket) the more this subsidy is worth. Th

In the US, mortgage interest is tax deductible whereas rent is not. The more you earn (and thus the higher your tax bracket) the more this subsidy is worth. The other big factor is inflation. Rent will increase every year while your mortgage payments will stay at the same nominal value. Admittedly inflation is much less of a thing now, but in the past it made owning a home hugely more worthwhile. Great calculator to explore the various paramaters here: http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/upshot/buy-rent-calculator.html http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/upshot/buy-rent-calc...