From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishbricks and mortarbricks and mortarhouses – used especially when talking about them as an investment → brick
Examples from the Corpus
bricks and mortar• Sound waves can also travel through solids, even such as bricks and mortar.• On downtown streets, broken glass covered many sidewalks and fallen bricks and mortar dented cars.• What was a potentially valuable, or at least useful, asset in bricks and mortar rapidly becomes a liability.• As a former building contractor, he had an eye for a sound investment in bricks and mortar.• The original bricks and mortar might be pulled down but Leatherslade Farm will remain for ever at the centre of the legend.• I saw him raining bricks and mortar on the people of Clydebank.• We feel that bricks and mortar are solid investment.• The prospect of delightful gardens was lost and the Brook disappeared under bricks and mortar.From Longman Business Dictionarybricks and mortarbricks and mor‧tar /ˌbrɪks ən ˈmɔːtə-ˈmɔːrtər/ noun [uncountable] informalPROPERTY buildings such as houses, offices, and factoriesThe hospital would cost about £37 million in bricks and mortar and another £10 million for equipment. 