through 2015, My return on cash has outperformed the market. Take any 10 year period and purchase a rental home with 10 to 20% down and real estate wins with total return on cash invested. I even did the research on specific properties I had purchased in each decade and carried it out 10 years. Property was either sold or appraised at end of 10 years. Real estate won every time.

The problem with most comparisons is the stock people like to take the acquisition price of the property and apply the inflation rate to an all cash purchase. I'm determining cash on cash based on a down payment of 10 to 20% down and 10 year ownership or more. I even used an example the other day of an apartment building I sold July 2017. I listed all the particular numbers and asked anyone to determine what my annual rate of return had been on that property. There was nothing special about it and I found it on the ML S in Texas.

The return becomes even more lopsided if you take the other benefits the portfolio of real estate receives.
Principal reduction.
Tax benefits due to inflation.
Increases in rent.

It also provides the opportunity of deferring all income tax by using a 1031 exchange to sometime in the future.