Things are not so rosy as they would have you believe.
For example, in AZ, home values plummeted approximmately 50% during the last few years.
So, a home bought for $200K was suddenly marketable at $100K, or 50% of previous value.
A 17% increase in home price makes it marketable at $117K - or 58.5% of the original value.
You are still 41.5% in the hole ...
Correct, it is only rosy for those who bought very recently. Anyone who bought in 06 to 09 lost a lot of value that is just now beginning to creep back up. It is going to have keep going up for a few more years in order to get back to the price they paid for it. We will see.