I call this speculation. In most real estate markets, a normal house is a depreciating asset that requires upkeep, maintenance, property taxes, and other liabilities.
No, not really. It's very rare for a house to depreciate, even if no repairs are being done. Moreover, property taxes are almost always going to be lower than the rise in price of the property.
And speculation and investing are the same thing, except the former is often used in a pejorative way.