Perhaps you misinterpreted the intent of my post.

I don't believe it's a BAD idea to buy a house to live in -- I simply think that a person who is buying a house to live in, while justifying its cost and headache as an "investment" is fooling themselves.

Owning a home/land is great - it's very empowering, but it's not an investment -- though perhaps I should qualify that term with "financial investment." It really isn't one.

The people I was referring to were brow-beating others for renting homes and NOT buying, claiming those people are missing out on an investment, throwing their money away, etc. etc.

But that's simply not true and buying a home isn't a financial investment - it's a responsibility. It's a responsibility that comes with a lot of reward, but it's most certainly not a financial benefit if one is simply buying it so they can live in it.