[alex_duf]

Surely you can see the difference between giving away a significant portion of your income to your landlord, or paying towards your mortgage.

In one case you can sell your property and get your money back, so you can decide to do whatever you want with it (like index fund if you so chose). And in the other it's your landlord who's either paying their mortgage with your money, or placing it in said index fund...

[xur17]

While true (the landlord is obviously making money, otherwise they wouldn't be doing it), there are other variables worth considering.

If you decide to move, you pay 6% in real estate fees (extortion) to sell / buy. If you rent, the house never changes hands, and hence this fee isn't paid.

[jandrewrogers]

At least in many parts of the US, the financial loss of renting is currently less than the financial loss of a mortgage, after subtracting contribution to principal. In Seattle there are places where renting is $2k+/month cheaper than the non-principal carrying costs of the same place. Buying it instead of renting it would literally be lighting $2k/month on fire that you don't need to. A renter can invest that extra $2k/month, so they come out ahead.

The cost structure of landlords is often very different than the cost structure of new homeowners. They can make a tidy profit charging rent that is significantly lower than your mortgage payment.