Homeownership isn't necessary to achieve financial security and/or build equity. The idea that it is, all the time, everywhere, a necessary step does not hold.

Homeownership isn't necessary to achieve financial security and/or build equity. The idea that it is, all the time, everywhere, a necessary step does not hold. In countries where the state does not heavily subsidize homeownership via tax incentives (Switzerland or Germany by contrast with USA or France), many households choose to invest in other assets. On the contrary, the fact that states have to subsidize homeownership to make it a competitive investment for households (at the expense of renters paying taxes and not benefitting from incentives), is evidence that in a tax-neutral environment, homeownership doesn't make much sense. Singapore is misleading, because 82% of the population actually lives in public housing (HDB). I suppose they're counted as "homeownership" because they are leased for 99 years [1], but that's a strong authoritative state with central planning and management of housing. Lease doesn't build that much equity because at you get closer to the term the value of the lease naturally declines. And you're not free to sell or buy to who you want. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_housing_in_Singapore https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_housing_in_Singapore