[carbonica]

Buying stocks and even bonds is an enormously different type of investment than buying a home and investing in it.

[roel_v]

That's commonly said but frankly I don't see why, when you invest in an (index) fund (as you should if you're not a 'professional'). It takes about as much work and intelligence to choose one or a few funds as it does to choose a mortgage and do total-cost-of-ownership vs rent calculations.