> Rising prices seem good superficially because a lot of people own houses and that means everyone is getting rich!

But this only helps people who own multiple houses, or don't plan to live in one. If you need a house, the gain you get from selling your existing house after appreciation is necessarily offset by the loss you take buying an appreciated replacement house.

You can't get rich, or benefit at all, from a nominal appreciation in the "price" of something you can't sell.