Sometimes, timing does play a major role in things, and education and sacrifice have little to do with it. For example, here's the sales history (that I know of) of my condo...
1985: Previous owner bought it for $78K.
1994: I bought it for $84K. But, once you factor in inflation, selling costs, etc, it's a safe bet that previous owner actually made very little, if any.
2004: I sold it for $185K. Once the mortgage got paid off (plus a second mortgage I took out and invested), plus the agent's commission, and the costs of a bunch of renovations I did, I think I walked about with around $76,000. I attributed that to good luck more than any market savvy, though. At the time, $76K seemed like a lot of money, but over the course of 10 years, plus factoring in inflation, it probably wasn't so hot.
2007: Next owner sold it for $245K. Now he probably made out pretty well, unless he tapped out a lot of equity.
2017: Next owner sold it for $190K. The pictures of it are still up on various real estate websites. It has hardwood floors throughout most of it, a new washer/dryer, new paint throughout, a ceiling fan and a couple new light fixtures, and looks like at least a new outside unit for the heat pump. Now, I don't know which of the two owners after me did what, but I'd presume that since the most recent one had it for ten years, they probably did the most. They also took a bath to the tune of at least $55K, plus selling costs.
Throw inflation into the mix and it gets really ugly. Even though it's been low for awhile now, it's still crept up. That $185K I got for the place way back in 2004 would be $245K just factoring in inflation. And the $245K the next owner paid in 2007? Try $297K today! And to think people thought those home prices would go up forever, and they couldn't lose...
Edit: I just ran those other numbers through an inflation calculator. That $78K the first guy paid, in 1985, comes out to around $180K today. The $84K I paid in 1994 comes out to around $141K in current dollars. Then, once you throw in property taxes, condo fees all those years, plus various repairs, maintenance, upgrades, etc, it just shows that, unless you really know how to do a quick get in and get out, lipstick on a pig flip, most people just don't make that much money on real estate. And that's why I don't think of home equity, when I do my net worth calculations. To me, the biggest value in owning real estate is that, over time, your costs go down, presuming you have a fixed mortgage, and eventually when it's paid off, you eliminate that monthly mortgage payment. If I had stayed in my condo, it would be paid off by now, so I'd just be paying maybe $500 per month, to cover the property taxes, insurance, and condo fee, and then utilities.