Does it get recast or does it move with an index such that the fully-indexed rate is poor when the index rises?

Another possible source of information is to search the clerks indexes for the previous owner.

When everyone and their mom is talking about killing it in RE, you know the party is about to come to an end..Johnson, how about:Home affordability Index droppingFed Mortgage Survey on loosening of credit & overall looser lendingRecent unsustainable price increase"It's different this time" attitude in regards to interest rates, sustainability of increases, etc..Almost 1MM posts on BP and XXX new users every day!

@Matt R. out of curiosity, do you cherry pick your selection of REITs or stick to broad REIT indexes and such?

I wanted to ask the Pros here because, given what the math is telling me, it's extremely hard to justify investing in real estate over something like an index fund.  

I am shocked to see that the median rent (according to the Zillow Rent Index) has dropped very significantly.

@Bill Yozipovich Are you referring to a SEP-IRA or an index mutual fund that tracks the S&P 500?

Conversely I can say that you could have deployed that entire $10M and bought an S&P 500 index stock from your home and done nothing to achieve those returns.

SS increase is indexed to cpi-w which includes housing costs, groceries, household goods as expected by the average urban wage earner.  

Real estate investing isn't for everyone and that is totally ok.Warren Buffett regularly recommends that most investors should just purchase a low cost index fund that tracks American Business and make regular contributions over the years.