Why Rent? Because You Can Move.

Melchior Palyi was an economist who fled National Socialist Germany in 1933.  Five years later he issued stern warnings to economic policy makers:

Palyi warned in 1938 that a push toward universal home ownership would "make the population fixed to the ground" by "overburdening them with housing costs." 

Renting offers mobility.  This allows you to take advantage of economic opportunities and personal relationships that become available in other regions.  For these and other reasons, home ownership is not always profitable.        

Full article about Palyi by Jason Zweig at The Wall Street Journal published in late 2010.