Does this apply to Australia ?

I was reading the Freakonomics blog http://bit.ly/kniYko this morning about owning a home  vs. renting and got to wondering whether it applied to Australia.  I found there is a lot published about this topic and it's certainly igniting debate.It was covered by Crikey and the maths was hotly debated. I have a mortgage , that's just what I thought you did when you were old enough and could afford it. But now I think that if I had the chance over  again I might not. Not because I don't believe in owning property but that perhaps I could do better with the money. Who knows , hindsight sure is a wonderful thing.