Smart millennials! Over almost all periods where we have enough data (1800 onwards) buying real estate has been a worse investment than buying stocks. A couple

Smart millennials! Over almost all periods where we have enough data (1800 onwards) buying real estate has been a worse investment than buying stocks. A couple of exceptions are the decade leading up to the 2008 financial crisis (i.e. the swansong of the real estate bubble) and the decade from 1945-1955 as returning soldiers and the post-war boom increased the demand for property in the U.S. Real estate produces rents but also costs (taxes, maintenance) and over long periods the investment only just keeps up with inflation. Putting your money in productive businesses (the stock market) has historically been a much better investment, beating inflation by something like 3-5%.