529 plan or buy rental properties

[John Hixon]

I was wondering if I could get some advice from people who know something about finance and investments. 

I think most people on BP know that if done properly investing in real estate brings better returns then the stock market.  So, I was wondering if it would be better to buy 3 or 4 rental properties (average price say $75,000) and hold those for 15 or 16 years and then sell some or all of them to pay for college or put money away every year into a 529 plan.

Anyone have thoughts on this?

Thanks.