Most real estate investors would take issue with "getting lucky" as the main factor in outperforming the market. Unlike knowing whether a stock in the public markets is over- or under-valued, knowing how to increase the value of your rental without breaking the bank doesn't require years of research, insider knowledge, and fair fortune. Real estate will, for the foreseeable future, provide market-beating yields to those that know how to use it and aren't afraid of the extra work it takes to maintain and run (as compared to holding a stock).
No, savvy real estate investors with a lot of hard-won knowledge beat the market and, more importantly, achieve their returns consistently in a variety of economic climates. It's not based on luck but, like using a piece of farmland optimally, requires knowledge of how to best leverage the asset. Unlike traders/mutual fund managers/hedge funds, who have been shown time and again to be charlatans, the regulars in real estate prove the naysayers wrong year after year.
