This is a terrible analysis from someone who offers professional investment advice (the author). Nobody would have held a 7.5% mortgage w/o refinancing. You c

This is a terrible analysis from someone who offers professional investment advice (the author). Nobody would have held a 7.5% mortgage w/o refinancing. You can always ratchet down if rates go down. Mortgage interest is (was?) largely deductible, greatly reducing the after-tax interest rate, especially in the market example cited (San Mateo). Property taxes are deductible as well (less so before the recent tax changes). You have to live somewhere and that's a quantifiable benefit (in rental equivalent terms). If you put all of your money in stocks, and none in a house, you're going to have to pay rent somewhere. A portion of the capital gains on the sale of your primary residence is tax-free, further increasing your after-tax returns. Housing market examples, like stocks, can always be cherry-picked for one argument or the other. Home ownership is not always a great investment, but it's usually not lousy.