Its called inflation.

You may see some appreciation at the rate of inflation, but that is it.Curtis

While those numbers were inflated at that time I don't think they are inflated for today's economy and incomes.

For my current building the rent, minus my unit would be 4K/month (not including expenses (which won't be much one the mortgage is paid off) or the inflation in 20-30 years).

In other words we inflate the structure price and minimize the land value over standard assessment.

The problems are 1)markets where appreciation above inflation is sustained over decades is exceedingly rare (but they do exist), 2)in these type of markets your initial cash flow will be much lower (but not in the long run with rent increases) as compared to a market with high initial cash flow and no appreciation (negative appreciation after inflation), and 3)markets with long term appreciation by definition are not cheap so you will need some capital to get started.

Only way it seems that you can make money is to buy with all cash and then you are making some pretty paltry returns that will barely keep up with inflation. 

These vehicle will erode your purchasing power with inflation running more than what your money is earning. 

Rents and inflation keep going up.

Lower appreciation, rent increases usually track wth inflation, so over time, your ROI doesn't increase and equity doesn't provide you with leverage.