spoken like a true 'property investor'? if you are trying to tell me that you don't recommend your closest friends and family to buy their own houses, you've really not convinced me.
not GP, but I'd recommend buying to some friends/family and renting to others. it depends a lot on how long they plan to live there, the local price-to-rent ratio, tolerance for risk, and desire to make significant modifications to the structure. but I'd err on the side of renting.
I very much recommend ownership over rent. However, purchase is sometimes not practical, out of reach, or just not desired. I've myself been in steep markets (California) where I rented for years while I saved up a down payment.