It's not black and white.
There are many people in our country that probably wished they had rented instead of buying as the houses they are in are worth far less than they paid for them. Until recently, purchasing a home has most always been considered a good place to put your money. If you have to borrow money, you then have to consider interest and closing cost along with the apreciation of the property to determine a viable return.
Renting carries no direct monitary return, but does leave with you more time and less surprises. If your time is very valuable then renting makes more sense. If your time is spent on hobbies and interests such as most of here on countrybynet than renting, other than to save enough to bring down finance cost, would not make sense.
In times like these when people look back at what they have put into thier houses, considering property taxes, interest, maintainence costs and improvements and the time spent on the latter, it sometimes seems it's not worth it, especially since taxes have increased since 2004. Over the long haul however buying a home is the more sensible option almost everywhere