That is exactly right. We own, we have 6 acres. We went for location and land. The house we bought was not the draw. But we paid it off. So now we can work on deciding whether we want to build a new house on our land. But it won't be a mansion.
I rented most of my life. Owning is better!
Thanks; to me, you can buy a small house and build as you need it and avoid getting soaked in debt. Frankly put, this whole housing issue has contributed to the collapse of the economy.