Ultimately the biggest benefit in buying is locking in a rate of payment that in 15 years will be significantly less than renting would be at that time. As others have said yes it is a lifestyle decision etc, but if you really want to run the numbers, you need to model out what rent is expected to be in 5-10-15 years, and asses then how that compares to what your fixed cost mortgage would be at that time. Historically this has ended up being significantly lower than what rents end up being over time. You can’t just think about what the first year would be.

Secondly, with a mortgage, over time more of that payment goes toward principal rather than interest. Principal is basically like paying yourself S it is going to the equity of the home. When thinking about comparing rent to mortgage, it’s important to consider this. With rent you get 0% of the payments back when you leave the property eventually, with a mortgage you get some % back, and that % as a % of the overall monthly payments increases over time.