Real estate returns on equity have been high for the last 30+ years because the amount of equity fronted by the owner relative to the appreciation of the real estate has been very low.

The rest of the funding is bank debt and as long as rental payment can cover the bank note, property taxes, insurance, and modest maintenance then there is very little the equity needs to do other than just sit there and get the juiced returns.

This dynamic was especially prescient over the last 30 years because they just kept lowering interest payments and coming up with creative mortgage loans.

In that environment: buy a home, wait 3 years, refi, buy another home wait 3 years, refi, but 2 more homes … the boomers didn’t have to do much to get rich…