I thinks its great to own at least the property one lives in (and have it paid off). Its a great feeling of freedom and not so much an investment but a lifestyle decision. I can do what I want with the place I live in and certainly would not want to live in rented property.
In regards to investment property, this is a different story and yes its merits needs to be considered vs. any other investment, be it shares, art or antiques or whatever. Shares are more liquid, can be sold in small parcels and have much smaller entry/exit costs. On the other hand some shares can gain or loose 25% in a week, so are much more volatile when compared with property.
Also people like to feel clever when they are sucessful with something and forget that many times they are just lucky. So maybe many posters here should control their emotions and antagonism a bit and thank the gods for their good fortune and if one gets a bit older one realizes that money is not even 10% as important as staying in good health. And after all sooner or later we will all end up in the same place and then it will not matter who was smarter in 2011.
