OP is talking mostly about housing being considered an 'investment' for the average homeowner, I think. Homeowners, on paper at least, are the biggest beneficiaries of the housing crisis:

https://oregoneconomicanalysis.com/2021/03/16/who-benefits-f...

Granted, those are paper gains, but still, better to have that option than to be priced out of the market completely, as many are.