>The only time a house makes sense is when raising kids. It really depends where you live. Here in Pittsburgh you can buy a decent house for $150k. Meanwhile

>The only time a house makes sense is when raising kids. It really depends where you live. Here in Pittsburgh you can buy a decent house for $150k. Meanwhile, rent in that same area is $1000 for something similar. In this case, even if there was zero appreciation, the amount you pay on interest, repairs, etc... is less then the amount you would have spent on rent, but everyone should take the time to make these calculations for themselves. There was no amount of math that made a 1,500 sqft house in Calfornia at $1 mil (during the boom) better then renting. I should also mention the area I'm thinking of has high demand for rent, so your mobility isn't really limited as you'd be able to rent out at a profit almost immediately.