I like that my payments builds equity for me and not someone else. You typically get a lot more for your money by owning. You have enormously more flexibility in remodeling and altering property that you own.

I cannot imagine finding a property to rent like the property I am purchasing now. I was out doing pre closing inspections today.

Financially, this depends on the real estate market. In an overpriced market like Toronto or Vancouver, renting makes more sense because if you buy a house in those markets now, there is a very good chanc that the house will lose value. If you do that with a large mortgage, not only will the bank get most of or all of its money, you will lose any equity you have built into the house.

On the other hand, if you are in an area of the country where real estate values are steadily going up, a house can be a good investment.

I've been a renter and a homeowner. They both have appeal to me.

Right now, my mortgage is less than the place(s) I would have been comfortable and happy renting when I was looking in October.

You never really own your house until it is paid for. Most people live in a house they are renting or in the process of purchasing. Buying your house earns you equity, so it is a savings account. Renting gives you flexibility and mobility. You are not tied down.
Both have advantages. Purchacing a home is more cost beneficial in the long term.

I put "other" because I don't want the expense and bother to keep up a large property, but I would enjoy something like these examples:

This Smart Trailer Unfolds Into a Sustainable Two-Bedroom Tiny House [apartmenttherapy.com]

Owning is better because when you rent you're just paying someone else's mortgage. When you own you can borrow against it

For me, owning is better. As a renter, you're merely borrowing someone else's property. The reality there is you are paying their mortgage for them, plus a little. As an owner, your mortgage is your rent. Should you decide to move, you sell and, hopefully, you get all your money back and possibly make a profit. Although there are market adjustments that impact property values (and other investment vehicles like 401Ks, stocks, IRA accounts), the trend is usually UP. This means your chances of making money are generally better than taking a loss.

I'd rather own simply because if I rent I never see that money again, while if I own I get it back give or take some.

My home is paid for. That's the biggest plus to owning. Not having that $987 to Pay every month is nice.

As a realtor and a landowner I can tell you there are many benefits to renting. Mainly is lack of responsibility regarding paying taxes insurance maintenance upkeep. Long-term equity in a home is it good thing. Important thing is finding the spot. Weather renting or buying location location location.

"It depends".

It is no longer the slam dunk it used to be, before the 2008 real estate crash or even several years before that really, to purchase any random piece of real estate, hold it for five years, and turn a pretty much guaranteed modest profit.

My region for example is among the top in the nation for real estate appreciation since the year 2000, but it hasn't budged one single dollar since 2008 or so.

I purchased our current home here in 2012 and would probably realize a modest loss if I sold it today. I'm in a college town with near-100% rental occupancy, so it's not like there's no demand. But the demand is for lower-end, older property that students can beat up. The economics isn't there for a newer three bedroom single family home in a new neighborhood of single family homes. A few of the 30 dwellings in our development ARE rented to a mix of students and faculty (we're two blocks off-campus) but many of those are on the way out as rentals as the local government ratchets up the regulation and inspection regime.

So you have to know your market if you want to buy real estate.

I probably wouldn't buy real estate that I had a lot of debt in anymore. I'm owning rather than renting because I own free and clear, I only have to pay taxes, maintenance and utilities which amount to around $1500 a month or so in exchange for 1900 square feet of single-family privacy (albiet on a tiny lot with neighbors 12 feet or so away). $1500 in this town would get me a run down one bedroom apartment in a 100+ year old house -- maybe. If I went out in the sticks where the Internet sucks I could probably rent a similar size drafty old farm house for the same money. So it makes sense for me at my age and financial situation to be IN town and owning.

If I had a $2000 mortgage payment on top of that with 25 more years to go, it would be a different story.

I feel sorry for young people just coming of age now; it took me most of my adult life to get to this point as it was; I don't know how one would do it now. I think we're headed for a world where the elites own the real estate and rent it out to most of the rest of us.

Renting is definitely vital in some situations and best for others.
I hope to own my home and a few acres within a few years!

Hope to be moving on to my sailboat shortly and sailing way south