Ryan, thanks for reading. Yes, Opher and I were discussing the topic, then we each wrote articles about our views. Our disagreement is mostly about terminology.

Even if owning a house is better than renting, in my view that doesn't make it an asset because it is still losing money. It's an expense that should be minimized so that you can improve your cash flow and invest more in real assets that make money.

Opher believes it should still be called an asset because it is something that you own (accounting definition) and because it will save money when compared to renting (based on his calculation).

For me, I don't believe there is a one size fits all answer to rent vs. buy. There are too many variables for each person's situation, so they have to figure it out for themselves. But it helps to know that owning a house is not investing, so buying a big house is a poor wealth strategy.