So, roughly 16 years ago I bought a tiny flat. Renting tit for that long would already be more expensive than all the costs of ownership, even assuming that renting cost was constant (it TRIPLED). As a bonus, the flat is worth more than three times of what it was.

So in total, I've paid 1.5x for a flat worth x and now it's worth 3x and I don't have to pay the rent!

I'm not saying the article's author it wrong, just that your mileage might vary.