Actually, it's more like money in the stock market. A house is worth exactly what someone else is willing to pay for it. If one considers their home more in terms of a speculative investment than a place to live, one runs the risk of any speculator.
Not so with money "in the bank". It doesn't gain value like a hot stock or a beach house in Malibu, but it doesn't evaporate overnight either.
Unfortunately, I have to pay taxes on what the tax assessor thinks it's worth.