I would argue that when first buying a place, the price of renting vs the price of owning is pretty similar.
When I bought my condo, the price of my mortgage / condo fees / taxes / utilities was not much more than the cost to rent an apartment. Now that I've increased my payments a few times, I pay about $725 more a month, which is the same amount of equity I get in my place.
The difference between renting and owning is that, at some point in time, you don't have to pay a mortgage. So eventually (after 25 years or so), you should be able to build up your equity quicker.
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