[davismwfl]

We likely disagree on which is riskier if I read your statement correct. Much like anything though, going into it with an educated mind is the critical part, which is why I pointed out the need to study the market and team up with someone that has prior experience, as the potential to lose money is real in either case.

The simple reason I find the real estate market less risky, and hence the probability of loss less, is that factors which change valuation do so at a much slower rate and are, with some measure, easier to predict. With the stock market you can lose significant money in a single day because of the words that come out of someones mouth, regardless of the truth or veracity in those words. The housing market is a bit more resilient then that which I think mitigates some of the risk, at least the risk of others affecting your asset and money. It doesn't stop you from making bad choices and losing money though, as nothing fixes stupid choices.

There are a lot of other details and I can see the arguments either way, and truly for balance you should be involved with more then one investment vehicle. But for pure rates of return annually, I still stand by the fact I feel the real estate market is less risky overall then the stock market if you want some larger returns.