> I came to the baffling conclusion that ownership is not worth it. I came to that conclusion about 20 years ago. So I decided, rationally, to stick with rent

> I came to the baffling conclusion that ownership is not worth it. I came to that conclusion about 20 years ago. So I decided, rationally, to stick with renting and saving, and I'd wait until prices dropped a bit. Well prices didn't drop in that 20 years, and my savings ended up covering some costs. I didn't end up better off. In retrospect, despite the (small) price differential in favour of renting and saving at that tim, I think not buying when I could have was a strategic mistake. I would say this: If something turns up in your life that needs you to pay unless you can get means-tested support, it's less likely to force you to sell the house than it is to force you to spend your savings, even if they are in a fund. Also, investments can go down as well as up. This is true for investment funds and housing (in theory). But if there's a market crash, you still have a house when that happens. If it's in a fund, you lost it. In other words, there's greater exposure to risk via the fund because long term volatility affects the fund value to you, but you are relatively insulated to changes in the value of housing, especially if everyone else is affected the same way.