Two things this also ignores that for me work out in favor of renting right now (in Seattle). 1) The options for renting and owning are not the same. We have a

Two things this also ignores that for me work out in favor of renting right now (in Seattle). 1) The options for renting and owning are not the same. We have a ~1300ft apartment that is just a bit too big for us; it is on the 4th floor and has an expansive view and southern exposure, which is rather important for me. There's transit access and groceries/coffee/etc. walking distance. Condos in Seattle are few, esp. in new buildings. Most of the houses are far from stuff, are by definition on street level so even under ideal conditions few have lots of air and view, and vast majority are too big... So, I'm going to be paying extra for sqft we won't use (we already have unused, unfurnished corners in 1300sqft), the yard that for me is a net negative (maintenance), and loss of quality in other dimensions (relatively worse view and light). If my apartment was a condo, I'd seriously consider buying it. As is, it's hard to find a house that is not much more expensive than rent while ALSO being worse. 2) I haven't done the math for this, but in the end, you die. I don't care how much I'm worth when I die as long as it's >= 0. So, leaving aside the case of getting lucky with well-above-inflation appreciation (still, did houses in Bay Area appreciate that much faster than stock market since 2000 or 2009?)... one could sell the house in Seattle and retire to Vegas if he were living in Seattle for job market access only. However, in that case one can probably retire early and move to Vegas without caring for job market access, on the difference from the house prices. If one were rooted in the community, selling the house and downsizing is not an option (in fact I've heard older people in Seattle complain about this - the value and property taxes go up and up but they never want to sell out of the community so the appreciation is a negative for them). There are various scenarios possible, and it's not clear that the net worth in 30 years is well, worth it - liquid; you may have little time left to use it, or not even want to sell.