[sokoloff]

I know it’s anecdotal, but I’ve been contributing the max to my work 401(k) every year for 18 years and also bought a house 14 years ago. The house appreciation alone has dwarfed my 401(k) entire balance (contributions plus earnings). My downpayment of $X has turned into around $7X.

If I treated the extra housing costs (we upgraded significantly from around 1000 ft^2 to 2500 ft^2) as an additional 401(k) that I contributed to, the house still wins but it’s at least close in that case.