[roenxi]

If someone doesn't have enough money to buy a house, they can move in and rent it. They get to live in a house that is nicer than what they can afford right now.

I don't know much about the housing market, but arguing from theory, if the new build market is restricted to _only_ people who can afford to buy a house, that might be a much smaller group of people than individuals who want to live in the area but just cannot afford the cost of building a house. Renting is good for that not-enough-to-buy group.

For example, I couldn't afford to live in a city if I had to own my own home. I don't have that much money on hand. I'd rather rent land from a landlord than money from a bank. At least the landlord is carrying the risk.

[ricardobeat]

In the current Dutch market your rent will be a lot higher than mortgage payments for a similar house.

[t_dunks]

well... when your renting you know that your rent payment is the top of what you will pay a month. If you own the house, you also need to pay its taxes, repairs, upgrades, etc.. so it makes sense that you must pay more than just the mortgage payment to rent, its less risk.