What are you talking about? People definitely buy homes as an investment so that they can sell it and retire.

That’s insurance. The “profit” goal is not to rent seek or enrich themselves. And in this market it’s a risky gamble, anyways.

If the so called profit is intended to be entirely consumed to take care of moving or retiring, it’s insurance to allow you to move or retire; it’s not profit you add to your income. It’s not even properly described as “profit” since it’s, by definition, unrealized gains.

These are not circumstances where you “cash out” and buy something fancy, or even pay your day to day bills. Context matters.