Quote from Hamlet:
Don't you mean to say that the utility of a single family house (owning or renting) exceeds living in a box (apartment or multi-dwelling unit)? In large cities, like NYC, most "houses" are multi-dwelling units, or cardboard boxes as you say, no different than apts. In suburbs and rural areas, single family houses are often rented. The distinction you mean to make, as I read it, is not between renting vs owning but single vs. multiple family
Exactly
In the more heated areas, if you compare renting the same space vs buying it, it makes little sense to buy unless you firmly believe that your property will keep going up forever & ever. In the northeast you can find some great living spaces & houses to rent at great prices instead paying inflated market prices for the same place. In NYC, rents have always been quite cheap in comparison to buying due to rent laws, unless you're one of the suckers who ends up paying 2k for a shoebox with cockroaches.
It is a fact that the rent price index is historically low vs home prices. That trend cant continue forever.