It's cultural. Americans generally have lower savings rate (when compared to other nations) and a home is one place where 'investing' and spending can overlap i

It's cultural. Americans generally have lower savings rate (when compared to other nations) and a home is one place where 'investing' and spending can overlap in a fairly bespoke way compared to anything else you spend money on. You can't live in a share of stock, though it may appreciate faster than a house. (You also generally speaking can't use leverage to purchase shares). But even if shares appreciate faster than homes, they don't feed into conspicuous consumption: and that matters to some segment of the population.