<prompt> Human: So There are quite a few threads regarding buying a home vs. renting, but they almost entirely center around how long someone is going to be in an area. Can someone explain why that matters? It seems to me that the question should be, Is sinking a SUBSTANTIAL amount in a down payment worth it when you could be investing that money and making minimum 6 year over year?  <response>: almost entirely center around how long someone is going to be in an area. Can someone explain why that matters? The length of time matters because all of the up-front costs of buying and selling hit harder if spread over less time appraisal, closing, fees and taxes, the down payment. Couple that with the fact that during the first years of a mortgage the majority of your payments go to interest rather than building equity, if you arent going to be spending 5 years in the place, youve lost a lot of money on interest and buysell-associated costs but reaped rather little in equityvalue in your purchase.Is sinking a SUBSTANTIAL amount in a down payment worth it when you could be investing that money and making minimum 6 year over year?Two possible replies: If you have a guaranteed 6 return, that is going to be very tempting for many people. However, the market isnt guaranteed to return 6 any given year. You need to take risk into account when making these types of comparisons.Second, its about priorities--the point of acquiring wealth, after all, is to meet your needs housing and goals perhaps home ownership. 