Don't listen to the nincompoops riding the current trend of saying that renting + investing will earn you more wealth than buying a home, it simply isn't true. It's telling that they show you a slick graph and never mention the assumptions that go into it. Here are some truths about the financials of home ownership that don't get mentioned: 1) Rent must necessarily be more than the mortgage payment for the same dwelling. No one willingly rents a house for a loss every month. If you buy the home or apartment you are in, your payments will be less than rent + insurance + taxes + maintenance unless the place is falling down when you buy it, or you live in some rent-controlled sh!thole. Do your diligence, but know that the payments will be less for the same space. 2) These graphs are rarely if ever apples to apples comparisons of living spaces. A 2-bedroom apartment is a vastly different from a 3/2 ranch in the burbs. More square footage, no sharing walls with the amateur DJ next door, no shared parking space, (nearly) complete freedom to customize, a yard to barbeque and play with the kids/dogs, etc. 3) These comparisons seem to base the financial return on the full purchase price of the home, but hardly anyone pays cash in full. The return on a typical cash outlay is much better than the stock market for most buyers. Consider a purchase of a $200k home with 20% down, or $40k out of pocket excluding closing fees. At a conservative 2% home appreciation, the home value increases $4k in the first year, compounding after that. That's 10% on your money and growing, not even accounting for amortization of the loan. 4) At 7.5%, there is $1,600 in amortization in the first year of a 30-year fixed mortgage. This adds another 4% to the return on your cash, or 14% total return in the first year. This return has no market risk if you aren't looking to sell. Your risks are your ability to keep the same or better job, and major maintenance events. And that return keeps growing as your amortization rate increases over time. 5) After 10 years, that $200k home is worth $255k, and your mortgage is $138k. You have $117k in equity from a $40k cash investment, effectively tripling the value of that cash. Let's deduct $17k to account for selling the home to bring it all the way back to cash. That's a CAGR of 9.6%, comparable or better than the market, again with very little risk. And you get a better living space while you're earning that return, at a cheaper payment than you would by renting the same. 6) Many 1st-time homeowners do not put 20% down, but rather qualify through FHA or other programs for a lower down payment. I put 3% down on my first home in 2002, but 5% and 10% are also available if you search it out. The math gets even better the lower cash you put down, but the risks get higher to keep a good paying job. Many people will try to get as big or nice a house as possible and max out their monthly budget based on the payment. I recommend not doing that, and keep your payment to 1/3 or less of your after tax income (closer to 20% would be ideal). Save every month and always keep some savings in case you need a new roof or a foundation starts to sag. I hope this illustration helps refute the terrible advice going around. It's so in line with the "you will own nothing and be happy" motto of the WEF, that I suspect Blackrock et al are behind a lot of this misinformation. Don't fall for it!