All well and good, but notice that you moved from "I need real estate to appreciate faster than inflation or my family will suffer" to "I'd prefer to have real estate as part of an optimal investment portfolio because I believe it will produce better risk-adjusted returns". We're not really talking about actual desperation here. We're talking about your desire to maximize your family's well-being.

If that's what you care about, it would be wise to consider the impact on society as well. Society doesn't do well when resources are only accessible to a wealthy elite, and a stunted society will hurt your childrens' future. So maybe it's not such a good idea for real estate to be a scarce, rapidly appreciating asset, if it leads to unaffordable housing and economic desperation for the masses, political instability, etc.

I'm not saying don't invest in real estate, only that the political conditions that make real estate a good investment may be bad for society at large.