If you aren’t looking at a home as an investment opportunity, there’s no reason to look at a home. Why would you shackle yourself to something that you can’t easily get out of, takes time and money to maintain, can go away in an instant, and takes years to get any equity. If it’s not appreciating past what you pay in maintenance or what you might be paying in rent, why would you willingly waste your money? If you are going for the “American dream” of the 1950s, there’s no reason why you can’t have a stay at home wife, a boy and a girl, and a car in the garage while renting the home.