That really depends on your local area and your needs. If you decided to keep renting in Vancouver instead of buying in 2002...yeah, you made a mistake. If you

That really depends on your local area and your needs. If you decided to keep renting in Vancouver instead of buying in 2002...yeah, you made a mistake. If you decided to keep renting in Detroit instead of buying in 2002 - you have come out quite ahead. Also, even if property values tend to go up over time, that doesn't mean that homeowners can bridge the gap of maintaining ownership in down periods. If you bought in 2006, you might find yourself underwater on your mortgage 3 years later, with stagnating or declining wages and threats of unemployment, and forced to sell, even if you believed the market would rebound eventually.