I agree with most of the analysis. But for the average person the biggest advantage of a mortgage is that it's a form of forced disciplined investment. A mortg

I agree with most of the analysis. But for the average person the biggest advantage of a mortgage is that it's a form of forced disciplined investment. A mortgage requires you to make an upfront downpayment and then recurring monthly payments into a durable asset. You could put them same amount into equities, but 90% of people won't have the financial discipline. And even of those who do, the average equity investor gets skittish and tends to panic-sell at the bottom, missing out on huge accumulated gains over time. For one thing selling your home is a lot harder process than pressing a button. For another you don't get a constant stream of updated marked-to-market prices. If you're a perfectly rational, even-tempered homo economicus, then low-fee index fund is a much better better deal than real estate. But there's a reason why historically home ownership has created much more middle-class wealth than stocks.