REITS vs. the Stock Market

Think that real estate is hands-down a better investment than the stock market? I found some data on REITs (Real-Estate Investment Trusts) compared to the stock market, and on first glance it looks as if the stock market outperformed the real estate market from 1975-1993 and also from 1990-1996. Be wary, especially now that we are in a real estate peak, of people telling you that real estate is the best investment out there. Be also wary of those who tell you that it was the “best investment they ever made.” As David Chilton says, for many of those people, “it’s usually the only investment that they’ve ever made.”