If people take the doom and gloom of the recession away, they'll see that a house purchase has always been a sensible buy, as long as you take the long view.
The days of £100k profit in 12 months are over...but even in these times, houses bought 3-5 years ago are showing extremely healthy profits...
I never buy a house to make money...it's my home and what it's worth is irrelevant when I enjoy living in it and don't want to move. But: the sensible side is pleased to see my wages going into my house as a appreciating asset...rather than blow it on sportscars which only ever fall in value.
2009 may well prove to be a baragin hunting year for buying houses...whether they drop or not it's not clear, but in 5 years time people will wonder what the fuss was all about as their house has just gained £100k in value.