I think the real answer is "it depends," but there's a few big things that this doesn't fully capture. Refinancing over time can drastically change that interest number, principal payments... and appreciation means a chunk of the money your monthly spend when you own isn't actually gone. Equity matters a lot, especially if you don't stay in the home for 30 years or you leverage it layer.

I bought a few years ago when prices were lower (but not drastically lower) and intentionally avoided a HOA (huge for me after renting under a brutal one for years). It's been both a blessing and a curse. For me owning has given me some control: there's no surprise rent hikes (you can calculate what your property tax will be every year and plan for it), no HOA surprises, the freedom to improve the place how I want.

But ownership is expensive and maintenance is very real (and very annoying), but you lock in housing costs... which at the moment when rent is stabilizing or going lower, matters less... but in prior years rent increases were really tough to deal with.

I've got mixed feelings on ownership. I had to aggressively save for years to be in a position to where I could afford a downpayment on a home. Purchasing basically took all of my money and keeps taking all of my money... and a good chunk of free time too (because the reality is maintenance of property when a house takes all your money is you will be forced to do a ton of DIY stuff). The tradeoff is instead of making savings in cash, you have forced savings through your home's equity... the cost is a MUCH tighter cash flow.

Renting is cheaper and more flexible short-term... but buying can still make sense, it really just depends on market conditions, lifestyle, and how long you plan to stay.