[quote=flu]Plus the real estate windfall from the Great Recession is probably that 1 hit, one time lifetime event.[/quote]
This. You bought in the midst of a severe crash (good job) and your returns were boosted accordingly. That can’t be extrapolated.
With that said, you are right to be suspicious of the “stocks return more than real estate” thing. This is a pretty common belief, but it’s based on an apples to oranges comparison. It’s true that housing prices (not just talking SD here, I mean overall residential RE) have only tended to keep up with inflation over time, but that’s only looking at the price return.
To compare with stocks you have to look at total return, which includes income from owning the property (or if you live there, the “income” you get from not paying rent). Once this is included, RE returns have been comparable to stocks over time.
