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I couldn’t disagree more. IMO, home ownership is the base of wealth building. Not owning a home has to be major reason why people have to work until they die. Rents go up but your mortgage stays the same. The govt makes owning a home and investment properties so beneficial when it comes to tax time. If you have a hefty salary and paying a lot of income taxes then rental homes are a great way to get much of that back. Having a mortgage or many mortgages is great.

Rental properties are totally different from an investment POV than owning a home to live in is. If you are in the business of real estate investing with just one rental property or a thousand it can be one of the best investments there is in the US. Owning a home as a residence is not the same....the tax advantages are almost negated today with limits on what can be written off as far as mortgage interest and property taxes goes...according to IRS data only about 10% of individual filers itemize deductions since 2018 tax reform doubled the standard deduction. Most people do not pay enough in mortgage interest and property taxes to itemize any longer or the difference is so insignificant that the risks associated with itemizing, small as they are, is often not worth the effort.

The main advantage to owning a home is having place to live...its not a great investment as far as investments go because they require a constant outflow of cash for maintenance, taxes and mortgage interest. Traditionally they appreciate which makes it advantageous but they can also lose value a a good many people learned about 15 years ago. Even when the appreciate the amount of money paid in maintenance, taxes and mortgage interest is usually at best slightly less than the increase in value over time adjusted for inflation....at best it is a savings account that pays about the same as a passbook savings account with infinitely more risk.

Given the mobile nature of our lifestyle owning a home can also be a HUGE anchor which prevents career growth and taking advantage of opportunities. At best, if you paid realtor fees...and you most likely did, it is usually a bad idea to buy and sell within 60 months. My wife and I have moved overseas and across the country several times in our careers and each time one of both of our new employers reimbursed us for moving and realty expenses....but those employers are getting fewer and further between. The DoD almost NEVER offers PCS moves to civillians any longer and most federal agencies have cut way back on it...and many private sector employers have followed suit because they are all competing for the same candidates. If you are young and plan to advance your career removing the ability to relocate due to owning a home you'd have to pay out of pocket to sell is a bad idea. If you have no plans to relocate that ain't a problem but it is a good way to advance your career.

Thoreau said it best...you do not own a farm, a farm owns you. The same is true for a house...its only marginally better than renting and then only when one is intent on staying in the same area a long time. In the military it is common for unaccompanied service members to do a "2 bag drag" and relocate across the globe. It is hard to be freer than a person who pick up their entire life's possessions, put them in a duffel bag and start life anew.