It is one of the most vexing questions for an investor but as a suave business person you have to try and answer it. Which is the best long-term investment - gold or real estate? Of course you have heard this question year in and year out but it seems there is never a convergence of thought on the same. 

What the Numbers Say

A Gallup Poll which poses that question every year seems to get divergent results. In 2014 for example, 30% of respondents voted for real estate while 24% thought gold is a better investment. While the percentage of those in love with gold as an investment seems to be falling, real estate investors are growing from 25% in 2013 to the current 34%.

There is a lot more to these numbers that cannot really help you make an investment. For instance, if you are an online jeweler and a study shows more people love real estate would you sell your diamond earrings online to create a real investment fund? 

The Pros and Cons of Real Estate and Gold as Investments

If you are a smart investor, you will understand that the only way to make a good decision is by using reliable information. This involves research and today some of the important aspects of these two investment options you will come across include:

• Gold has a richer heritage: Today the government is being forced to print money at a dizzying rate and soon there will be inflation. When this happens you can bet your gold investment will rise in value which is what has been happening for years. At times, it might drop but it has a history of always paying eventually. A valuable lesson by pros in Gold investment - do not buy gold expecting a return the next day.

• Real estate provides a steady flow of cash: Once you set foot in real estate you will have created a flow of cash as opposed to gold which is considered dead weight in investment circles. 

• Gold provides a safer long term investment option: Every investor can remember what happened a few years back during the 2007/2008 house bust. Real estate lost its allure due to its fickleness. With gold you will always have a guarantee that even when the price falls you can never lose your investment.

• Real estate allows you to build wealth as you can leverage it through financing. If you are involved in selling and buying gold in addition to diamond earrings online growing your business can be tricky as opposed to someone in real estate.

• Real estate is not speculative: This is one of its strongest points that make this an ideal investment. With rentals for example, you are guaranteed of income but with gold you have to speculate. If you want to sell or buy gold and diamond earrings online as an investment you will not be guaranteed of a return tomorrow or the next day.

• No price manipulation for real estate: The precious metal markets are tricky to work around. Tales of price suppression abound and as a new investor you might find yourself selling without returns every day.

It is quite hard to clearly know if you will burn your fingers when you sell diamond earrings online. It is also hard to say that when you invest in rentals, you will have a golden key to success. It all burns down to how aware you are about the markets today. Whatever you do make sure you always make decisions backed by information.