<prompt> Human: Theres a lot of misinformation on this topic floating around. The most common mistake I see is not accounting for opportunity costs properly. This is a recent study done jointly by FAU where I first heard about it, FIU, and U of Wyoming that addresses the cost topic directly. On average, renting and reinvesting wins in terms of wealth creation regardless of property appreciation.The also addresses the most common argument I see here, that renting is throwing money away:Still, researchers in the study claim the old adage of throwing your money away on rent, doesnt hold up.You are tying up a lot of capital in a house and the ancillary costs are quite high. The math would change depending on the forward supply curve but an increase in supply will also slow price increases.  <response>: In the nations 24 largest metropolitan housing markets, just four showed median home price appreciation between 2010 and 2016 that was higher than the median return of a stock portfolio, according to a report by Redfin, done in November 2016.I guess well just conveniently overlook the fact that youre getting 5x leveraged returns on your investment with a mortgage though. Also no capital gains tax if you live there for two years. 