It is an investment, in the sense that you are buying an asset that you may sell in the future. It just may not have a positive return, and you almost certainly

It is an investment, in the sense that you are buying an asset that you may sell in the future. It just may not have a positive return, and you almost certainly want a reasonably diverse portfolio of investments (if a high percentage of your net worth is in one piece of real estate, you don't have a diversified portfolio).