You need a place to live, one way or the other, so not owning is not like not paying. Rent is due just like payments, but rent does not produce equity or gains, rises over time and it never ends. It's not tax deductible either. So- owning a house is usually good practice, even if you could make more profit investing the down payment.

Best answer- Do both. Be conservative and a careful buyer on the house, and think of it as an investment you might profit from. Use whatever other capital you can spare to build an investment fund and portfolio.

Investing returns vary with a multitude of factors. One is skill, and that only comes with experience and the right talent. Another is the economic conditions of the times. Right now, it's really hard to find anything I would consider a great buy with strong potential. Things like the recession provided a huge number of great buys, more that I could take advantage of- but those I did made me a lot of money. No such bargains today, and no skyrocket returns. That swings points to the house buy side too.

Buying a house for the right price in the right area stands a better chance of making you money in the long run. The stock market is for investing extra capital so that it makes money for you rather than sitting in a low interest bank account. The key word there is EXTRA.

For example:

When I was a baby my parents bought property and built a house in metro Detroit for $250,000. They ended up selling that house ten years later for $500,000. That means they made $25,000/year to live in that house. Few stock investments will net you $25,000/year without investing high six figure sums of money to net you that large of a return.

This is totally dependent upon your goals. I'd suggest your evaluate pro and con of each.

You can't live in your stocks.