> I will concede that if you're comparing renting and buying equivalent properties that buying generally makes financial sense. But that's not what I'm doing.

> I will concede that if you're comparing renting and buying equivalent properties that buying generally makes financial sense. But that's not what I'm doing. If you concede that buying makes sense when comparing like for like, why not do that? Buy a tiny studio apartment of the size you prefer and then you can own it. If you're comparing rent on a tiny apartment to mortgage on a larger single family home, of course the tiny apartment is cheaper. It doesn't conclude that renting is cheaper, only concludes that a tiny apartment is cheaper than a house.