Ramit Sethi argues buying a house only makes sense if you'll stay 10+ years to spread transaction costs. Renting can beat buying financially if you invest the difference, and offers more lifestyle flexibility.
At least 10 years.
Buying a house is one of the most profound financial decisions that will affect your lifestyle ever. You can sell a car even at a minor loss, but selling a house involves massive transaction costs and labor that most people don't anticipate. One of the reasons that I rent is for lifestyle reasons. Financial, yes, I make more money renting and investing the difference than I would owning, but also lifestyle. I don't know that I'm going to be in the same place for 10 years, which is one of the key things that I would encourage people to decide before they buy. You want to know that you're going to be there for at least 10 years, because then you can spread all those transaction costs, spread them out over 10 years. They become much more affordable.
