As a "DI3K", a house makes a ton of sense. We need space, we need a place for five people to live, and we need a house in an area where the schools are going to be great for the next 18 years. We don't need mobility as far as relocation goes, because it just doesn't make sense in our life choices right now. I mean, it's certainly possible, but I've seen second-hand what moving from town to town every 6 months does to a 7-year-old.

I'm not mad that our property (as far from the coasts as possible) has increased in value ~$50-80K, either.

Don't forget shorter mortgage commitments are available (And a much better deal when you can swing them).

If you pay a property manager 10% to make it their problem, the economics of paying a mortgage on a home you're no longer living in and renting it out become significantly more questionable - particularly in some place like the Bay Area, where mortgage payments are already often more than you would pay to rent the equivalent dwelling.

Otherwise, there’d be a line to file strategic bankruptcy after the last tuition payment was due...

It's a mild deterrent for some cases, but for a lot of situations, having the degree isn't anywhere near as valuable as having the education.

Not having two student loan payments and a couple unnecessarily-high car payments (a couple well-to-do millennials surely make possible) could certainly push your mortgage affordability much higher than someone straddle with that debt (but completely able to pay and maintain it).