The other commenters covered the reasons just fine. > But this is an important part of the buying calculus. I would argue it probably shouldn't be. Anyways,

The other commenters covered the reasons just fine. > But this is an important part of the buying calculus. I would argue it probably shouldn't be. Anyways, like I mentioned, sometimes renting is cheaper, sometimes buying is, I'd recommend buying whenever owning is cheaper. It likely will change while you hold the property, but no sense in over-spending on a property if you don't have to. Buying property tends to take a good while, don't get so fixated on a particular house so much that you bid ridiculous amounts for it. It might take a few years once you start shopping. Try to put 20% down if you can, and try to limit your purchases to a single house for your lifetime. Transaction costs will likely eat you alive if you transact all the time. Illiquid transactions are always such a pain. Good luck on your house hunt!