Exactly. The reason homeownership can be a good investment is not because it appreciates in value, it's because: 1) For a given residential property in a high

Exactly. The reason homeownership can be a good investment is not because it appreciates in value, it's because: 1) For a given residential property in a high-demand market, you can reliably extract annual rent equal to 4-5% of the value of the property in a high-demand market. 2) If you just live in the property, your expenditures are reduced by a slightly higher amount because you avoid the inefficiencies of the rental market. Also, income is taxed, but reduced expenditures are not. 3) Homeowner's insurance is usually a much better deal than renter's insurance. This of course varies based on where you live, but on average (in the U.S. anyway) you'll get better rates for equal coverage if you own your home. It has nothing to do with some insane notion that property values always go up.