The argument that follows this is the affordability index.

Currently I invest in index funds and live on a budget so I can enjoy things like traveling during the summer.

Well, the instructions he left for investing the money that he left for his wife after he dies were that they should be invested in low-cost index funds, like Vanguard. 

Under the Austin_Metrics I used HPI index from fhfa.gov dataset for the 787 3-digit zipcode to calculate the 'four-quarter' house price appreciation.  

When I was looking for Clinton the Van Buren County seat in Arkansas it pulled back items from other states even though I included (AR)kansas in searches.Is there any state/county/city/town indexing on the site?

Now if you optimize the two and go specific with locations, buying indexes and buying puts, it's still going to like favor equities.

I swipe my middle and index finger through my pits like a credit card, both hands at the same time, as if I was an armpit gun slinger through my stinky pits, and chase the daughters of ma baybee.

I'm looking at 30-yr charts of housing indexes, coinciding with my experience over my adult life....I like the odds of REI better than the stock market.good luck

Eddie:Have you done any side-by-side comparisons of your real estate portfolio versus a broad-based low-cost index fund over the same time period?

For example if that same money was parked in a conservative index fund during that time (sounds like about 5 years total?)