~snip~
I understand your take from the perspective of homeownership, but that changes quite a bit with location and specifics. For example, in 2024, most family in major cities in Indonesia consider that it is cheaper to rent than to buy a house with mortgages. That is why this trend is fueled through high-rising prices of homes and the increased rates of mortgages, which keep buying a home beyond the reach of an average fellow even if he pays high rents.
That said, buying a house is not all about financial gains. As you said, besides being a source of comfort in having a place called home, in several countries it is a very lucrative business to build homes for letting. Particular being a landlord in a city offers good opportunities to earn regular income from tenants. Yet, it is important to take into consideration all those aspects of maintenance costs, taxes, long-term investment that come into play when weighing up the advantages of being a house owner against renting. Each has a plus and negative side to it, depending on what your priorities are and what the market conditions are.
Although it is usually true that renting is cheaper in some cases than buying the same home, there's a catch.
It's all fine if you are young and want to have the flexibility of rent. But when you get older, you might want to have a place to stay where you know that you won't be kicked out because the owners decided to move in.
If you are, say, 80 years old, I don't think you would be comfortable moving out of your rental and start applying for another place, which actually you might not be able to secure because of the competition.
People might not want to rent to you because they might think you won't be able to pay rent since you are retired.
It's quite a bad picture when you think about it.