Renting works well for highly-paid professionals who aren't committed to living in the area for the long haul and have plenty of money left over after paying th

Renting works well for highly-paid professionals who aren't committed to living in the area for the long haul and have plenty of money left over after paying their landlord. That's a very niche subset of people who rent. The more common scenario is people spend 1/2 to 2/3 of their take-home pay on rent to avoid a hellish commute, living with roommates in a poorly-managed building where the owners drag their feet fixing anything. These people don't have money to "park" in things that return far more than a house.