I cannot disagree more ...
Real estate is where you got other people money ( banks ) work for you ...
His 100K will give him access to another 400K , with that he can buy a 3 units rental property ... Mortgage payments paid by the tenants ( let say about 8K a year ) , and he still has plus value with the years, mainly if the rents are increased regurarely.
So 8K/year on 100K gives you 8 % .
If the property value increase is a mere 2 % , that gives 10K , 10%
Total: 18K on 100K : 18% ... covers inflation just fine
Taxes: comes to 0 income by amortizing some of the principal .
Disadvantages: you must work a bit ( maintenance, leases, conflicts, ...)
Advantages: you can pass expenses against the income
