> homeowners typically pay out $100,000-$200,000 in interest, and much of the interest is paid early in the life of the loan, which slows building the equity
I think this is bad math. It does not matter in a long-term, when you pay just interest or principal. There is cost of capital that you pay as interest and you are paying it regardless. You are only losing when buying/selling often due to closing and related costs. So, it is often a good idea to buy house early in marriage. In olden times, Rambam recommended buying house before marriage, but in our times, you got to be ready that the bridge will not like the neighborhood, or the view from the windows, so you’ll need to move anyways.