ᐅ Renting a house or buying/building one? How did you decide?

PS: I'm out. Keep filling your pockets with "we'll save so much on rent once we have our own house"... blah blah blah

Regarding the topic of the original poster,
we have purchased a property but made sure that the house wouldn’t be too expensive. Usually, the house ends up being larger and more comfortable than what you would rent.
In theory, renting should be more expensive since the landlord’s profit is included. However, this is often not the case because, in most places, the rental and purchase/building properties are probably not identical. This naturally increases not only the price due to the luxury factor but also the interest burden.
Additionally, no one can predict the future development of rental prices.
Will they continue to rise as they have in recent years, or will they drop eventually due to a declining population?

It depends on the situation for me. Our plot is one of 30 in a prime location, which could only be obtained through a lottery system. According to the local authority, demand exceeded supply by a factor of 10. When we received the positive result, it was clear that building a house could also make sense economically. On top of that, we built with good value for money, and I could sell my house immediately at a profit (including additional costs).

Beforehand, we rented a single-family house with 200m² (2,150 sq ft), which was perfectly fine. Although the layout wasn’t ideal, etc., it allowed us to stay flexible.

@Steffen80 That doesn’t make sense. Our alternative to "building a house" would be "renting a house," not "renting an apartment." If someone prefers living in an apartment (or at least finds it tolerable), they can rent one or buy a condominium. The question of which type of housing is desired is completely independent from the question of "buying or renting"—at least in most areas. Sometimes not every combination is actually available on the market, but that is a separate issue altogether.

The luxury is not to be an owner; the luxury is to live in a detached single-family house.

Building a house currently costs us more per month than renting our apartment (although this comparison is only somewhat relevant). If I looked at single-family rental homes comparable to our bunker, the costs would probably be about the same. Renting a house between 140 and 180 square meters (1,500 and 1,940 square feet) in our area easily costs 1,400€ (about $1,500) per month without utilities. I pay the same amount on my mortgage.

BUT in no more than 24 years, my time will come when I can smile at all the renters because I will only be paying for utilities and maintenance on my dream home each month. When I can afford a big vacation three times a year while others are still struggling to cover their rent.

You need to add maintenance costs to your mortgage payments, which a landlord would otherwise cover. For example, a new heating system after 24 years is realistic. Such factors significantly shorten the long-term profit.