Yes. I was in a 1 year / 2 semester, 2 hours per class, 5 days a week CFP study group back in the day and we debated this topic hotly on quite a few occasions.  The consensus was mostly that residential RE is not a great investment...probably break even or worse given all the data. However, we also decided that it was probably better for Americans be in it anyway because it's a form of forced savings, even if the return profile is slightly negative, on average.  Americans are notoriously bad at saving, so this form of forced savings has benefited them greatly. Nothing wrong with knowing your weaknesses and using a gimmick to get around it instead of actually addressing the root problem....it typically works out.

The pain to reach "consensus" was no joke though. People tend to lose their minds when you first suggest that RE is not a great investment.