I have half a million I can liquidate, because I bought instead of rented. Many friends said it was a 'bad investment', but when the money gets spent either way, even a bad investment is better than none. It has never been easier to buy a home that you can afford thanks to loan programs and historically low rates, although now rising...

But yeah, even though in many ways a home is a liability, it has equity you can leverage. In many countries, homeownership conveys other perks. In the usa, homeownership is also a strong sign of being a 'good neighbor' as you have skin in the game, while renters see little reward or penalty for being poor neighbors.

There are of course shades of grey and other factors, but in general, the modern marketing to milennials that homeownership is futile or worthless is partly its own downfall.