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How is not paying off mortgage better in normal circumstances?
Certainly there are people who do pay off their homes.  Others do not.  It's a question of risk tolerance and preference.  Some considerations relevant to this question: Taxes - Interest on a mortgage is tax deductible.  Particularly for high earners, this is a significant incentive to maintain a mortgage balance and place extra money in the market instead. Liquidity - If you lose your job, you can sell stocks to pay the mortgage.  But if you have made principle payments on your mortgage but still owe some outstanding balance, you are still required to make monthly payments without any source of income. Rates - In recent years it is been common to get a mortgage for 3.2% to 3.5%.  The difference between those rates and 9% rate of return for the market is substantial.   There are other considerations but the answer in the end is that for many people the risk / reward calculus says the ~5% difference in rate of return is worth the potential risks.