Interesting point, and just what I was thinking. If I could go for a 290K, and rent out one part/room for ~$1000, I'm pretty well off having the money with me that can help pay off the mortgage or part of it and keep it all to myself at the end of 30 years. Otherwise, it is scary to put all my money into a dead investment for a "perceived value" in X years into the future which I'm (or anyone else for that matter) not even sure of. A lot of factors to consider here, and clearly no thumbrules. Interesting article and that data was an eye-opener.