I'm not sure I agree 100% - keep in mind as your home goes up in value, so do all the others, so it's a wash unless you move into a cheaper area of the country, which will be tough seeing as though you live in Texas.

You didn't really do anything to "create" value - you just bought a brand new home. The builder probably made $25k-$50k+ off of you. How's that for "sticking it to 'the man'"? That and now you're paying interest to 'the man'.

But I see what you are saying - owning, generally, is better than renting unless you are spending >20% more on owning the home rather than renting. But it's not a quick path to riches unless you bought 5 years ago.

Oh, and you've probably heard this before, but your own home isn't an asset...