I wonder why people are ok with buying. For most people buying a house is a bad investment. Unless you're very wealthy a house is going to represent a big chunk of your net worth which means you're not going to have a diversified portfolio and you're going to be borrowing money to buy it. Few ordinary investors would contemplate making a highly leveraged investment in the stock market but seem to think it becomes a good idea with housing.

Historically housing also tends to underperform the stock market when you take all costs into account (taxes, maintenance, strata fees, etc.). It's also a highly illiquid asset and tends to correlate with economic conditions (e.g. in an economic downturn you risk losing your job and facing a negative equity trap to move to find another one).

Some people derive enjoyment from owning their own home and if that's the case then maybe the financial downsides still make sense for them. For me I'd rather not have any of the hassles involved with home ownership and let my landlord deal with them. Personally owning a house seems like an unappealing prospect and it would have to be not just a neutral financial decision but a heavily net positive one for me to consider it.

In some cases in some cities in Canada, and where you are living you can rent and save and be ahead compared to buying in the current market.

The savings can be used to fund investments which make you more money.

In TO and the surrounding areas a fully detached houses start around 750k, and in the core can be way more expensive. Average home price is heading (or is over) 1m CAD. I can get a shoe box condo (1b/studio) in the "close" burbs for mid-high 200-300k.

A real house, detached that is nice, about 1.5 hours away approaches 200-300k.