You make some great points here for renting. Coming from someone who lives in the U.S. currently (And also 24 years old), I think renting is going to become much more of the norm going forward, especially with people in their 30s-40s more established in life. Outside of the reasons you listed, with the new US tax laws in effect for 2018 now, there is a $10,000 cap on the total state tax deduction an individual can take on their Federal tax return meaning most people who have wage withholding around that amount will no longer receive any deduction for the real estate taxes they pay for their homes. The mortgage interest deduction is also now capped as well for any new mortgage over $750,000. These two changes alone will disincentivize a lot of people looking to buy a home, now knowing that they may receive a lot less or potentially no benefit for the larger costs of owning that home.