Home ownership as it stands today does not provide financial security / stability because of the degree of leverage required for most Americans to own a home. It is funny how much basic financial advice boils down to "diversify!" but then we turn around and define the "American Dream" as levering up to buy a single asset that is worth several multiples your networth.
Home prices are absolutely not hedged against market forces, and the double whammy of losing your job WHILE owning a house whose value is down significantly from your purchase price is substantially worse than losing your job while merely renting your home.
When your house value is underwater, your only play is to stay and wait it out until prices recover. But if you also get laid off and can't make the mortgage, you can't simply move to a smaller / cheaper home like you could had you been renting. You'd be forced to sell at the bottom, or try to rent out at currently depressed rental rates to make up for your mortgage that was locked in from when your house was worth much more.
To own a home is to be in a state of constant stress over the value of your home, and the more levered up you are, the worse this gets. This source of stress is why I believe NIMBYism is so prevalent.