So, you're unhappy because other people don't use the same sort of anecdotal evidence that you are so fond of using yourself?

Who needs anecdotes when you have data? Here's a typical chart of median home prices since 1971, adjusted for inflation:

http://www.newfinancialwisdom.com/median-home-prices-inflati...

And here's a chart of the inflation-adjusted S&P500 since 1950 (skip down a few charts):

http://www.simplestockinvesting.com/SP500-historical-real-to...

What we see here is that, aside from some interesting but minor fluctuations and a scary but temporary blip representing last decade's bubble, housing prices are almost flat in real terms: The increase in median house price is almost equal to the inflation rate. Meanwhile, stock market investment values fluctuate a lot -- the last decade was not especially kind to investors -- but over the 1950-2008 time period the market averaged nearly 7% over inflation if you reinvest all dividends.

Now, you can get lucky. Or you can leverage insider knowledge: If you figure out that land in a certain area is systematically underpriced relative to future demand, you can make a killing without relying solely on luck. But the averages show that for every person who makes a killing in residential real estate, there's someone else who takes the equivalent bath. And note that the argument that "land in NYC/Northern California/Desirable Area X will keep growing in value because everyone wants to live there" presumes that the rest of the market hasn't already figured out that such land is more desirable and set prices accordingly.