Huh, I've owned our house for 9 years now, and my most expensive year was $2k (furnace and fireplace needed repairs)? Most years have needed very little maintenance, like maybe $100-200 for new sprinkler heads and some other stuff. We haven't needed new HVAC or a roof yet, but that's probably coming in a few years.

On the flipside, we save a ton vs renting. Our mortgage payment plus taxes and insurance is more than $1k less per month than renting. So I could do that HVAC replacement every other year and come out ahead. Yeah, we had to put a bunch down, but we've saved more on rent than the down payment in that time (not sure about counting gains if invested though, but I think we're close).

You'll need more in savings with a house, but less ongoing costs. So if you amortize it, it's probably better to buy in most cases. But location matters.