I get it, but it's a very one sided view that doesn't account for the value of a capital asset. Despite the greatest real-estate crash in the history of the US

I get it, but it's a very one sided view that doesn't account for the value of a capital asset. Despite the greatest real-estate crash in the history of the US in which only one of my bordering neighbors didn't go into foreclosure, my $500K home, just eight years after I bought it has appreciated a bit more than 5% a year and before the crash was going up between 10-15% a year. Considering my loan has been at 2.65% (I got lucky with a non-subprime ARM which adjusted down) and property taxes are at 0.7% it's been a much better investment than a less expensive home. Yeah, it worked out for me, but it turns out it worked for all of my neighbors who also weathered the storm as well as a lot of other people through history.