Yes but you’re forgetting that it’s not that simple. You’re failing to realize that you have to have a place to live. If you either pay the mortgage or pay the rent on something, you ARE better off in your exact scenario to pay a mortgage than rent.
Unless you just started working, or didn’t save, you can get a suitable home within your cash range.
Yes, one can play money games to squeeze out a few percent more - but that piles on risk, which the sub-prime borrowers are finding can be a problem.