Let's math it

First rental I found on Craigslist is $2100/mo. That gets you 1100sqft in Shoreline. Duplex it's in is $900k on Zillow. Put $180k on it at current rates and you're looking at $5500/mo - or $3400/mo once you knock the rental off.

As a rental you can depreciate the structure on a 15-year tax schedule which is probably good for $10k/yr so that knocks another $800 or so off the price; you're at $2600/mo. That mortgage payment allows you to borrow about $300k - which would be a 700sqft condo except no it's not because everything in that price range also comes with $700/mo in HOAs.

So. If you can scrape together a down-payment on a duplex, you can get your payment down below what is even possible in the current real estate market. And if you did that in 1993, like the first rental I found on Craigslist, your mortgage got paid off last year anyway. or maybe it didn't, it might have gotten rolled into some ridiculous rate back in 2000 or 2010 or something.

But sure, go buy some treasuries. Nothing quite like six figures of t-bills when the incoming president has gone bankrupt four times.