If you pay a mortgage and you expect the housing market to stay stable or increase, you are investing in an asset. Rent is gone to the owner, in exchange for o

If you pay a mortgage and you expect the housing market to stay stable or increase, you are investing in an asset. Rent is gone to the owner, in exchange for one more month/two weeks/year/whatever frequency the payment is paid to the owner. The opportunity cost between a mortgage and rent is not dollar for dollar (euro for euro, or whatever).