I don't view my home as an investment, or expect a return from it, but that hasn't stopped it from appreciating 50% in the past decade. How would deprogramming this belief more widely lead to a material change in market conditions?
Probably both.
“Deprogramming” would help with the latter cause of appreciation. It would allow policy makers to enact laws and regulations to keep housing costs stable without facing a mass revolt from homeowners who have basically all made a $100K-$nM bet on their house increasing in value much faster than inflation.