This article takes a really bad situation and paints homeownership in general with the same brush. That’s really not helpful. Buying a home is generally a good

This article takes a really bad situation and paints homeownership in general with the same brush. That’s really not helpful. Buying a home is generally a good idea even if the “asset” isn’t growing very rapidly. There are a lot of socioeconomic benefits to ownership, which I won’t rehash - google is your friend there. For the financial benefits, provided interest rates make sense and the buy vs rent trade-off is sane (in SF it may not be), a mortgage essentially acts as a forced savings account, while providing you with a place to live. Say you take out a 30 year loan, in 10 years, roughly 19% of the principle have been paid down. Assuming the house roughly stays with inflation and you made ZERO real profit on it, you are still wealthier. Now, if the market moved significantly down or you had major repairs, it could still be a crappy savings account. However, all else being equal, it’s generally better than the exactly equivalent rent. In the end, everyone’s situation is different - do your research and talk to professional advisors (the ones that are fiduciaries and not just sales people).