I do not know if laughing or crying... Buy means acquiring an asset, an asset might became a burden or not, but it's still something, an investment. Rent means

I do not know if laughing or crying... Buy means acquiring an asset, an asset might became a burden or not, but it's still something, an investment. Rent means consume resources to end up in nothing or non-investing. Of course if just some invest and most do not those who invest are happier, if all invest the game is much less interesting. But that's an individual vs society advantage and can be fair only if ALL own or ALL do not, and ALL means exactly all, meaning we consider homes a State property in a Democracy, rent as a tax. The rest is a matter of timing: there are moments in history where buying is interesting, moment not to buy but hold, moment to sell etc, as for stocks, only with a much slower cycle. Aside there is an important consideration common is the Slavic world but often ignored here in the west: LAND ownership. If you buy a portion of a building your asset have an unspecified due date, because a day the building will became garbage. If you own the land it's value is connected but distinct from the current building on it, at a certain unspecified point in time you might change the building on your own ground.