arebelspy points out some of the key things to look for. I would add the following:
1. Don't be fooled into thinking that you will always come out ahead economically by buying a house. Plenty of people don't.
2. You won't always be able to sell your house for more than you buy it for. Even taking into account inflation, prices sometimes go down. This has happened a lot in the past 10 years and has made people (like me) re-evaluate whether buying (and eventually selling) will be economically positive. As mentioned by arebelspy, you start in an approx. 10% hole from the buying/selling costs.
3. There's this big myth that you should buy a house because after 30 (or 15 or 7) years you will have paid off the mortgage and can live mortgage/rent free. It's a nice idea, but it's a lie. First, you need to compare the costs over the term of the mortgage (including mortgage, insurance, taxes, HOA, maintenance, renovations, etc.) vs. the cost of renting (rent, maybe costs to move 1-2 times), then you still have to pay taxes, insurance, maintenance and HOA after the mortgage is paid off, so only part of your monthly payment is less. Finally, you're also tying up the whole value of the house in money that can't do something else (be invested).
Run the numbers (all of the numbers) to see if it makes sense in your area with your lifestyle. Do not underestimate (or forget) any of the many costs associated with owning a house.
4. Buying also has the serious disadvantage of tying you to one location. Okay if you don't plan on moving for quite a while (or if you're lucky enough for prices to skyrocket between when you buy and sell), but problematic for others; especially for people who want to live close to work and be flexible enough to pick up the best jobs that are available to them. Another cost could be the cost of paying a mortgage for several months while you're trying to sell a place and already moved to a new location for a job. Not entirely a non-issue for rentals, but usually easier to negotiate a settlement of 1-3 months rent.
5. Maybe it's different in your area, but good rentals are not usually that hard to find. You might occasionally run into a landlord you don't like, but a little up front effort can reduce the risk and you can always move when the lease is up (or earlier if he/she is bad enough). As has come up on this forum before, many people have rented a single house/apartment for 10+ years without rents continually going up and with the option to renovate/paint/etc.
There are some nice sides of owning, but mostly they are sentimental and not something you can't get from a good rental. If you're justifying buying on financial grounds, then really set aside your emotions and make sure that the numbers add up. If they do, then go for it. If they don't, don't justify the bad numbers with sentiment.