Recovered in what way? I know a couple that just recently had the price of their home return to the price they paid for it over 10 years ago. With inflation taken into account, the house is still worth less than what the couple got it for.
It obviously depends on where you are (hence _most_ western markets) but in most parts of the UK and Ireland (and indeed many places in the US) if you bought at the _peak_ of 2007, mortgaged to the hilt, if you sold now, you would break even on inflation.
You're also forgetting that they had somewhere to live for a decade for the cost of inflation of the house, which is significantly cheaper than normal rental prices in many places.
To come out even after a decade, after housing costs, seems a pretty "safe" investment to me. Certainly not as lucrative as having invested in an index tracker, but it beats the 0% interest my bank pays on my current account balance.
* this is obviously the caveat and where things went wrong for people.