You can reinvest that appreciation in other real estate or you may want to downsize and keep the value of that appreciation for retirement or other purposes. Most homeowners pay for the property by obtaining a mortgage. As you pay off that mortgage, your equity builds and you gain an increasingly larger share in a valuable asset. When you buy a home with a fixed-rate mortgage, you have more predictability over future housing costs. Because your interest rate never changes, the amount of your payment never changes, unlike rent payments that can be periodically raised.
Homeowners are free to redecorate, remodel and accessorize a home to suit one's taste and lifestyle.
The benefits of homeownership are not only that you have the right to make improvements but that the value of those improvements becomes yours as well. By living in one place for an extended period of time, children are more likely to be raised in a stable environment. Advantages of this include a consistent educational experience, ability to form long-term relationships, and the child's overall emotional security. While there are usually some limits on the access that landlords have to property, almost all landlords can access your property for necessary inspections and maintenance. Homeowners, on the other hand, generally have much stronger property rights and experience an increase in perceived and actual privacy.