Yes, absolutely. As I wrote a long while ago:
NYC condos have appreciated by more than 4.3% - closer to 5% by your link. So it will be even better.
How can it be better if the nominal rate of growth is so much lower? The reason is leverage. When you buy a home with a mortgage, you’re getting massive amounts of leverage on that investment - at a favorable, tax-advantaged interest rate. So our young lady will invest $300K in her down payment, and in 30 years have a condo worth (we assume) 4.4X the purchase price. But not 4.4X times the $300K - 4.4X times the full purchase price of $1.5M. She’ll now own a $6.6M condo. Meanwhile, in the stock market, the $300K has grown 16.6X - to $5.8M. Less than the value of the condo. Because the growth on the stock portfolio is only compounded against the down payment, but the growth on the apartment value is compounded against the entire purchase value.
So the condo is worth more than the portfolio at the end of thirty years, even though the rate of growth was much lower. It also has better tax treatment - about $1.75 million of that $6.6M isn’t taxable (the original purchase price plus the $250K exclusion from cap gains for primary residence), while all but $300K of the portfolio is taxable.
Again, it all comes down to the specifics of the situation. But given the value of leverage and the tax benefits both from the mortgage interest deduction and the capital gains exemption, owning can frequently be a much better investment than renting.
You know - if you actually do the arithmetic. 