Preach it brother/sister. Everyone is out here treating real estate as an investment and inserting themselves pointless middle-people extracting capital from those who are blocked from entering the housing market or even scaling their living situation to match their family requirements.

It's incredibly depressing to see comments like yours considered "wrong" and in the minority and even more so vociferously defended against in the name of "small-business owners" or the "capitalism IS fair" crowd. Despite those who succeeded being a survivorship bias group.

Housing is a right, and should not be an investment. To invest in housing alienates its purpose which is stability and shelter. It creates an antagonistic lens in which its ownership is held, not for those housed and protected by it, but those who wish to squeeze as much blood from the stone it has become.