I think his arguments are quite reasonable, but his example is a poor one. A Manhattan apartment is a fairly atypical sort of real estate investment, imho. I live in Austin TX, where real estate has managed to weather the storm much better than average over the last couple of years, and I'm much better off having bought than rented, even though I bought my condo in 06, at the height of the housing bubble.
That's also an atypical example, I know, and so I wouldn't want to generalize from my case alone.
That's also an atypical example, I know, and so I wouldn't want to generalize from my case alone.