Since January 1, 2000, the financial markets have seen severe drops as evidenced by the three major indicators.  The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 27% over that time period.  The S&P 500 fell 39% and NASDAQ has fallen an incredible 66%.

One million dollars invested in commercial real estate typically will generate a yearly return of 10% or $100,000 per year.  Not including the interest that would be gained on the lease income, a one million dollar investment in a Real Estate IRA made on January 1, 2000, for a commercial property fully leased, would currently be worth $1,457,683. 

One million dollars invested equally in each of the three indexes over this time frame would now be worth $559,736.  This represents a staggering loss of 44% of an individual’s entire investment.  The difference between these two investments would be $897,947