這些年來，我們聽到很多關于哪種投資更好的比較：房地產還是股票。兩者都各有利弊。但是兩者間又各自有著獨特的方面。但無論是選擇哪種投資來賺錢，了解地產投資和股票投資的各自的優缺點都是必須的。
房地產
房地產是一種物理上你看得到摸得著的有形資產。因此，對于很多投資者，感覺起來更加實在。也許也部分歸功于地產投資的高回報，從1978到2004年檢。房地產投資的平均回報率有8.6%之高。在幾十年中，對于數以百萬的人們來說，這類投資產生了持續的財富和長期的增值
總而言之，房地產投資主要有兩大類型：商用和自住。雖然也有其他一些類型投資存在（比如移動家庭公園、社區購物中心，公寓、辦公，商鋪和家庭住宅），但大體上都能被劃分到這兩大類中。在房地產上賺錢并不是呆板唯一的。有些人通過“炒房”-即尋找那些舊房產，修飾一新后以更高的市場價格獲利。另外一些人找尋那些可以用來出租的房產，來獲得可持續收入。
一般來說，你只需支出20%的訂金，剩余金額可以利用其他方式進行支付。這樣一來，你可以用更少的錢投資于更多不同類型的房產，幫助建立你的凈資產、收入，這就是經濟杠桿原理。當然如果你使用不當，你會背負很多債務在房產上。
其實投資房地產有很多益處。包括折舊 (商業地產中的損耗)、稅收減免。最終，你可以通過“1031”條款賣房產，只要你把錢再購買一套差不多價格的房子，就根本不用繳納資本利得稅。
像所有的投資，房地產業也有其弊端。最重要的是，流動資金被有些限制。當你投資一個房產時，通常是你不能馬上賣掉。在許多情況下，您可能需要持有該物業幾年來實現其真正的利潤潛力。此外，房產買賣手續費可能達幾千美元，包括稅收、 傭金和其他費用。此外，房地產價格有波動的趨勢。雖然長期價格普遍上漲，但也有可能價格走跌或持平。如果你有太多的房產作抵押貸款，這時你可能會遇上一些麻煩，這些房產價值可能會比你當初想象的略低。
最后，如果你決定投資于房地產，那么經營它的模式就沒有那么多樣化。假如，你不是都聚焦在一個社區而是進行多種不同類型的地產投資，那么也是有可能實現投資分散的 。如此說來，還有另一種方法，你可以能夠多元化房地產通過房地產投資信托基金 (REITs)、 在這種方式下你可以購買某支投資了一個大規模地產組合項目的信托投資基金，然后以股東的身份獲取紅利。不過，大體上，股票投資還是提供了更多的分散性，因為你可以持有跨越整個經濟領域不同產業不同區域的眾多不同種類的股票。
股票
從 1978年-2006 年來看，股票已達到了 13.4%的平均回報率。他們比房地產更不穩定，但從長遠來看，他們提供了更高的回報，比房地產業平均高出 8.6個百分點。
股票是如何運作的呢？
一只股票，你在一家公司接收所有權。好的時候，你會獲利。在經濟受挫時期，你就會發現公司的縮水。與房地產相比，你需要考慮股票長期的影響，如何來幫助實現凈價值最大化。
隨著房地產、 股市融資使你能夠使用保證金作為金融杠桿來增加你自己的股份總金額。缺點是，如果股票的點位下降，你就明白保證金作為何用了。這就是股票，當數額已低于某一水平時，起始保證金就必須添加到您的帳戶。如果你沒有做到這一點，經紀公司可以通過出售股票來收回款項借給你。
股票是更快速、 更容易出售的，也是相當靈活的。甚至重新分配到一個退休金帳戶 ，還能免稅，直到你開始收回這筆錢。很多股票，可能比投資房地產一年的收益都好。由于一些股票的波動，看到平均 增長20%甚至一年 增長50%的公司其實也都不足為奇。
股票市場的動蕩很普遍，尤其是當經濟或公司正面臨著挑戰。而且在此基礎上，投資股票往往情感投資，你在市場經濟中的想法往往并不合理。最后，破產導致你所有的投資全部破滅將會一直停留在股票投資者的腦海中 。
由此推論
一般情況下，股市比房地產在很多方面都有優勢。然而，房地產似乎具有更好的穩定性和稅務上規避的方法。其實有個好的妥協辦法就是：可能是擁有自己的房地產信托基金，因為它涵蓋了股票和房地產兩者的優勢。雖然每個領域有其自身的優點和缺點，來決定哪一個會適合你的，這完全取決于你的整體財政狀況和你自身可承受的范圍。
附：英文原文章
Over the years, we have heard the comparisons as to which is the better investment: real estate or stocks. Both have their advantages and disadvantages, and there are several aspects of each that make them unique investments in their own way. TO MAKE MONEY with either investment requires that you understand the positives and negatives of both.
Real Estate
Real estate is something that you can physically touch and feel – it's a tangible good and, therefore, for many investors, feels more real. Maybe this partially accounts for the high return on the investment, as from 1978-2004, real estate has had an average return of 8.6%. For many decades this investment has generated consistent wealth and long term appreciation for millions of people.
How it Works
Generally, there are two main types of real estate: commercial and residential. While other types exist (mobile home parks, strip malls, apartment buildings, office buildings, store fronts and single family homes), they generally fall into those two categories. MAKING MONEY IN real estate isn't as cut-and-dry. Some people take the "home flipping" route – searching for distressed properties, refurbishing them and selling them for a profit at a higher market value. Others look for properties that can be rented in order to generate a consistent income.
Generally, a down payment of up to 20% of the purchase price can be made, and the rest can be financed. This gives you leverage, meaning that you can invest in different types of properties with less money down, helping to build your net worth or income that you could make off the properties. While this can be a positive, if this leverage is used incorrectly, you may owe more on the properties than they are actually worth.
Negatives
Like all investments, real estate also has its drawbacks. Most importantly, the investment is illiquid. When you invest in a property, you usually cannot sell it right away. In many cases, you may have to hold the property for several years to realize its true profit potential. Also, the closing cost can add up to thousands of dollars, and include taxes, commissions, and fees. Also, real estate prices have a tendency to fluctuate. While long-term prices generally increase, there are times when prices could go down or stay flat. If you have borrowed too much against the property, you may have trouble making the payment with a property that is worth less money than the amount borrowed on it.
Finally, it's often hard to get diversified if investing in real estate. However, diversification is possible in real estate, provided that you do not concentrate on the same community and have a variety of different types of property. That being said, there is an additional way that you can be able to diversify in real estate through real estate investment trusts (REITs), under which you can purchase a trust that is invested in a large portfolio of real estate, and will offer you a dividend as a shareholder. However, in general, stocks offer more diversification because you can own many different industries and areas across the entire economy.
Stocks
From 1978-2006, stocks have delivered an average return of 13.4%. They can be more volatile than real estate but over the long run they have provided a much better return than real estate's 8.6% average.
How They Work
With a stock, you receive ownership in a company. When times are good, you will profit. During times of economic challenges, you may see diminishing funds as the earnings of the company drop. Taking a long-term approach and being balanced in many areas can help build your net worth at a much greater rate, compared with real estate.
As with real estate, financing in stocks allows you to use margin as leverage to increase the overall amount of shares that you own. The downside is that, if the stock position falls, you could have what is known as margin call. This is where the equity, in relation to amount borrowed, has fallen below a certain level and money must be added to your account to bring that amount back up. If you fail to do this, the brokerage firm can sell the stock to recover the amount loaned to you.
Positives
Stocks are very liquid, quick and easy to sell. They are also flexible, and can even be reallocated into a retirement account – tax-free - until you start to withdraw the money. As well, many stocks can do considerably better than real estate in one year. Due to the volatility of some stocks, it is not unusual to see companies that are averaging 20% or even 50% growth in one year.
Negatives
Stocks can be very volatile, especially when the economy or the company is facing challenges. Also, stocks are often emotional investments, and your decisions within the market can often be irrational. Finally, bankruptcy is always in the back of the active stock investor's mind – as it should be, as your investment will be dissolved in this instance.
Conclusion
In general, stocks may have the advantage in more categories than real estate. However, real estate seems to be better when it comes to stability and tax advantages. A good compromise may be to own a REIT, which combines some of the benefits of stocks with some of the benefits of real estate. While each area has its own benefits and drawbacks, to decide which one would work well for you depends on your overall financial situation and level of comfort.
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