What I'm trying to do is provide some context. Start here:
https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MSPNHSUS
So from 1965 to latest, we went from 21K to 450K. Where is that coming from?
1. inflation
2. size of house
3. everything else - interest rate changes, increased value of land, etc.
For 1, let's deflate: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MSPNHSUS
We get a multiple of 2.4. That is, $1 invested in 1965 gives $2.40 in 1965 dollars back, or a real gain of 140% over that 57 year holding period.
But the average size of a new home went from 1200 to 2500 square feet, so it doubled. Thus on a price per square foot basis, the real gain is about 20% over that 57 year hold.
So that is what "everything else" explains - a 20% gain over 57 years, which is good as an inflation hedge, but once you take into account that you should spend about 1% of the value of the house each year for maintenance, and then maybe throw in some property taxes, that bucket of #3 is basically zero gain and is probably a bit negative.
So houses, on the national level, have been a good inflation hedge -- which is important, but that's about all they've been in this period from 1965 to 2022.
Of course things very greatly by area. Buying a ton of almond orchards in silicon valley in 1965 would be very fortuitous. Buying an apartment complex in Detroit, not so much. If you want anecdotes, my parents bought a house for $80,000 in 1983 - Phoenix metro - and sold it for $250K in 2019. That's basically just inflation, and they put a lot of work into the house - remodeled kitchen, put in pool, changed the wiring, put in copper plumbing, new light fixtures, replaced carpet with tile in the living room, replaced wood fence with brick fence in the backyard, added new hardwood floors, replaced roof, double pane windows, paint, etc. Don't ask what the interest rate was back then, they needed to get some seller financing as the mortgage rates were obscene.