[barchar]

It's not true that paying off the mortgage makes it more advantageous to buy, home equity creates portfolio drag.

[bombcar]

It is possible to find weird inversions where it never makes sense to buy - prices are too high and rents are too low. CA has these places, where property tax arbitrage by renters can be less than the new property tax would be if sold.

[barchar]

Many high cost-of-living places have this property. People bid up owner occupied home prices even when rents can't support them.