Well-known financial adviser, author and commentator Noel Whittaker issues a monthly newsletter on www.noelwhittaker.com.au.
In the October 2013 edition, he made many interesting comments on property versus shares, including his own experiences with investment property, and these kind words:
"Anybody who’s got a property knows that you never have your hand out of your pocket. If it’s not the rates bill or the water bill or the insurance bill, it will be a bill for repairs. With shares, there are never any outgoings to pay, nor are there any vacancies.
If you’re interested in learning more about this, I urge you to sign up for Cuffelinks, which is a free newsletter that comes out most weeks. You can sign up, and also read past issues, at http://cuffelinks.com.au.
There is a brilliant article in Cuffelinks on October 3 2013 by Graham Hand, which is too long to reproduce here, but should be essential reading for anybody interested in buying real estate. In the article, Hand points out that the main driver of the current property boom is FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) - investors who are rushing into property are certainly not buying it on its inherent fundamentals."
http://noelwhittaker.com.au/newsletters/view/noel_news_14_october_2013/