not in my living area...not by a long shot. It's very difficult to rent around here, and many people find holding a mortgage to be less expensive on a monthly basis. example? an average 2-3 bedroom 1/2 house rental is $16-1700 a month *min* around here. My 3 bedroom home mortgage is 1/2 that cost. So I guess we're not 'debt free' but we're 'foolish debt' or ' unnecessary debt' free..... a place to live is a necessity,and either way (rent or mtg) you have to use a chunk of income to pay for it,hence the idea that one is debt free in such a situation.
To be clear, if we ever moved to a place that was cheaper to own, we'd probably buy a house. However, it hasn't happened yet. Modest sized homes here go for a million dollars. We'd need a $500,000 down payment to have a mortgage cost equal to our current monthly rent. We have exactly $0 for a down payment. It's just not a savings priority.
Renting has always, always been cheaper than buying for us. I sometimes dream of moving somewhere that homes cost less, but then we would be losing all the amazing things about where we live now, that we all love. It's a trade off, but one we are willing to make for the time being. We lived in a giant house for 4 years in an area we absolutely hated (but many people really seem to love). It was dirt cheap to rent ($2200 for a 3500 square foot, 5 bedroom, 3.5 bath, 3 story house). By the end of our time there, we were also sick of living in such a big house with a big yard. We realized it wasn't all that it is cracked up to be. It just wasn't for us.
True story...My sister in L.A. just bought her first home. Her MIL passed away last year and she had a lot of $$$ so my sister's husband inherited a good amount. They had been renting a townhome, for $3100/month. They bought a slightly larger home about a mile away, put down $750,000 , and their mortgage payment is still $200/month more than their rent was. That's just crazy. I'm not so sure buying that house was such a great idea. That $750,000 had been earning over $30,000 per month in interest, due to how it had been invested. They put in over $30,000 in renovations and the home has already fallen in value. This is the reality of the market here and not something I'd get involved with even if we suddenly came into a large amount of money.