Prior to buying the co-op, when my husband and I were in our 20s, we rented.
The money we made, when we sold that co-op ( which we redid the kitchen in, without a loan or mortgage )was a pittance, in what we subsiquently paid for the condo, that we bought, after renting an apartment for a year. We sold the condo and rented for the next 11 years, until we built this house. what we made on the sale of the condo, probably covered the cost of my kitchen...if that.
It may be rare, but it isn't nearly as unuaual,as one might imagine, for people to buy their homes outright.