Regarding residential real estate as an investment …

The Case-Shiller long-term chart indicated that real estate essentially outpaced inflation over the 116 years or so of the chart.

I would consider outpacing inflation in the long-term as an investment.

Additionally, the case-shiller study indicated price only. It ignores any investment income or maintenance expenses from property. Generally speaking residential rents far exceed monthly costs of maintentance.

So, in the long run it appears that residential real estate outpaced inflation over a 116-year period and provided dividends on top of that.

I do not understand how real estate could not be considered as an investment option. Sure, there are ways to play it speculatively, as there is for stocks, commodities, cash, bonds, etc, but to dismiss it as not being an investment option is absurd.