The tax man also (depending on the country) levies stamp duties upon purchase and annual property taxes. Owning a house also generally means low liquidity (sho

The tax man also (depending on the country) levies stamp duties upon purchase and annual property taxes. Owning a house also generally means low liquidity (should you want to sell), money going to repairs that you could otherwise just forward to the landlord and the requisite of putting up a deposit (money that can't be invested in say the stock market -- meaning you lose out on yield).