There are tax advantages to owning real estate outside an IRA.
I think the only reason people consider owning RE inside an IRA is when they do not have enough cash outside their IRA to do it.
Inside the IRA if you want to diversify into real estate use REITS or Real estate ETFs. Consider the Rental REIT index ETF: REZ. It maybe a bit overpriced as it has had a nice run the past couple of years. But, it pays a reasonable dividend and will presumably grow as rents grow.
