A home hedges against rent expense (assuming you’re going to live somewhere).
Indeed, I would recommend that if you sell your home and move to a rental, to invest the proceeds of your home sale in an equity-REIT.
When is a home NOT an investment?
When it’s beyond your income. A $20 million home requiring six full-time servants might be appropriate for Taylor Swift, but would probably be beyond the income of most Freepers.
I’d say the same about investments in precious metal and jewelry, in luxury cars and art. If its in line with your income, sounds prudent to me.
One of the big problems though is that affordable first-time homes are simply not there.
Developers want the huge McMansions, and don’t want to build those affordable homes.
Plus, frankly, neighbors in “affordable” neighborhoods most likely won’t be what you’d want.