Renting vs Buying, My Two Cents

In the past few weeks I've read several articles (NYT Daily, Atlantic & Axios) on housing affordabilty and renting versus buying. It's almost as if the authors are pitting renters against buyers in a moral and economic battle. A few of the points even seem to be coming from a rather biased perspective. The Atlantic article in particular, "Renting is Terrible. Owning is Worse. A third option is necessary: a way to rent without making someone else rich", seems to argue against its own point in the very title. Obviously the owners being made rich don't think owning is worse than renting. Homeowners get plenty of incentives to own and see owning their home or investment property as part of a larger longterm investment plan.

Obviously there's no one-size-fits-all answer. Everyone rents at some point in their lives because it's a good short term housing solution and most also aspire to buy because it makes good economic sense in the long run.
Unfortunately some of the solutions being offered don't actually help the folks that are feeling this squeeze. Amending the tax code so homeowners get increased benefit and incentive (such as the first $500K being tax free) to sell their homes and boost inventory is not the solution, in my opinion. It might put a few more homes into inventory but not the ones that we really need. Perhaps incentivizing builders and neighborhoods to build more homes in the lower to middle pricepoints is a better place to start. Banning private equity from scooping up starter homes in droves seems like a good idea as it would benefit both homebuyers and renters. The last thing we need is hedge funds monopolizing the single family rental market.

Have an opinion? Please share!