Around here, houses appreciate in value. Quite significantly, actually. A house can gain 100k in value in just a few years.
If you bought it, you're paying off the old price. If you're renting, rent increases every year to keep more or less in line with the accruing value. So while renters and buyers may both start out paying (eg) 20% of their income on housing, for buyers, this will typically go down (due to inflation --> higher wages), while for renters, it will stay the same and might even increase.
You're right about considering opportunity costs, but around here, it just turns out far, far worse for renters.
If you bought it, you're paying off the old price. If you're renting, rent increases every year to keep more or less in line with the accruing value. So while renters and buyers may both start out paying (eg) 20% of their income on housing, for buyers, this will typically go down (due to inflation --> higher wages), while for renters, it will stay the same and might even increase.
You're right about considering opportunity costs, but around here, it just turns out far, far worse for renters.