I think the idea of being able to downsize (or stay where you are after paying your mortgage off) is underrated. Going into retirement with no big outgoing cost

I think the idea of being able to downsize (or stay where you are after paying your mortgage off) is underrated. Going into retirement with no big outgoing costs for housing outside of insurance and maintenance is a big upside of owning a house (I'm not in the US, so no property taxes either). You don't need to make a profit on a home for it to pay off longer term. Having a pension that can cover living costs while NOT having to also cover rent gives a lot of security. While it's also an option to get cheaper rent and put the difference into another investment, rent costs are hard to predict, so I'd rather not end up worrying about it later in life.