Compare buying a 965,000 property in Grand Rapids Mi at 6.5% mortgage rates against renting for 4,650/mo and investing the down payment in the S&P 500.
With a Price-to-Rent ratio of 17.3x in Grand Rapids Mi, renting + investing the 20% down payment in the S&P 500 outperforms buying unless you hold for at least 7–9 years.