Surprised no one mentioned shidduchim for your kids. When I was dating, I had friends that refused to go out with girls whose families rented their home. No one will know how much debt a homeowner has, but everyone knows if you rent.
true point -- Never thought of that as something to affect a shidduch... would depend on the area that the parents are in.
Certain cities it's more understood as a not-really-much-of-a-choice to rent and wouldn't be a 'shidduch issue' (LA, for example -- it's possibly $4,500/mo to rent and $1.8 million to buy a home with $350,000 down payment needed versus other OOT:
Detroit, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, NMBeach, Philly, where a 4 br home can be under $2K/mo in mortgage including taxes! ...it's easier to buy.)
So - it's another city/"depends on location" thing -- as well as the benefit that you mentioned,
you can easily take out a home equity loan of $50K after a few years of home ownership, if needed...