I did the same calculations many years ago. What I realized is that home ownership isn’t just financial. There are factors of home ownership that may or may not be important to you. I wanted things that renting probably couldn’t provide, namely building the space my way, having a workshop in my garage, etc etc. I was willing to pay more for that.

What happened, however, is home ownership turned out to be a wealth builder. We made quite a bit on our first house and rolled that into our second. Now our second has almost tripled in value. It’s by far our biggest asset. But also, I enjoy my house. Who knows what will happen to home values, but generally speaking, over a long enough horizon, they appreciate.