If one is geographically fixed, Renting sux.
Even though the PTB love to tax assets, one is still better off by “owning”.
Heirs also win.
The problem is that as people age, they often can’t - or don’t want to - handle the work of maintaining a house.
We are facing this kind of decision in a few years; I’m thinking of a condo.
I owned for 40 years and now I rent and love it. No down payment money tied up, half the monthly expense, no maintenance, and I can easily move. I put my money in stocks and reaped the benefits ... Bigly.