The only comparable markets to what is currently going in today's stock market are possibly the current Nikkei Index and the 1929 stock market crash. The current stock market meltdown is obviously of epic proportions.

The Nikkei has been in a decline for 12 years and is still trending down. How long before it comes out of its bear market... let alone return to its previous highs?? No doubt in my mind that it will be more than 20 years total to get back the losses there.

The 1929 crash took 25 years before the market returned to its pre-crash level.

The housing bubble was not quite as euphoric and manic as the stock market bubble (maybe) but will likely take a long time to crash and recover as well.

I'm buying up land in rural N. Dakota to turn into hydrogen pumping stations!

Lol, funny coincidence, I just bought a nice 2+1 condo in the Montreal metro area :)

prices are still very decent around here. and seems likely they will adjust (up) to Toronto prices (much higher).

with the low prices and this being a home and not just an investment, seemed like a pretty safe bet!

btw, to everyone in those crazy priced area, the condo I just bought is built in 1990, 2 bedrooms, a mezzanine with a skylight and a fireplace. About 10 minutes from downtown.

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132,500! (down from the 140k asking price)

btw, I was reading the wsj article, and it said in some region, ALL home went for asking price or above..... thats just insane, unheard of around here...

The late 90's brought on a lot of "firsts" for the stock market, what other times other than obvious (Black Friday - 1929) has the stock market had as much gain as we have had (or anywhere near), followed by almost the same loss during a few years time span?

There isn't a historical financial scenario that compares to what we have just went through, what we are still going through for that matter.

Looks like you broke the thead ;p

You're right about the last part--there are a lot of new trends with the economy that we haven't seen in the past 50 years...there's even talk of deflation.

Deflation is big in Japan right now, responsible for back to back GDP shrinkage for most of the 90s. Then again, everything was inflated [read REAL ESTATE] in Japan for most of the 80's. I sure as hell hope that that does not happen in the US.

You already answered it. 1929.

It's not a first if it's happened before.

*shrugs*

The names change, the prices change, the fundamental theory that the stock market as a whole always goes up given the right timeframe does not as does the concept of not putting money you need in a few years or less into the stock market because no one knows when it will crash.

People can chase their tails in the dark trying to time the market bottoms and market highs if they want. Matters not to me. :)

Warren Buffet doesn't do Market Timing.... he just buys and holds. Takes a while to buy--studies the hell out of the company, then he buys.

I guess the results speak for itself. I knew a guy back in college who bought Berkshire A shares when they were only in the 4 digits.

I didn't say he did market timing...I actually didn't say anything about Buffet...

So far I've only bought one other place & it's a condo so things like garbage removal, gardening & maintenance are all taken care of by the condo board. The rent isn't too high so I don't make extra income from it, but the renters are helping me to build equity.

If I can eventually have 10 places, even if I have to shell out a couple hundred dollars for each of them every month, I'll still end up owning 10 properties in the long run with very little investment, plus the one I live in.

I could probably earn more money if I bought houses, since their value tends to inflate more. But I think you're right...the hassle may not be worth it.

I know that. But I was just making an example of a person that doesn't care about market timing because he invests for the long run.

You made a good point earlier re market timing .... for speculators who wish to "flip" stocks or get their profits out quick. I made a counterexample of a "market timing"-resistant philosophy---Buffet's "buy and hold" strategy.

Instead of condos, try whole apartment complexes. Check www.loopnet.com for listings.

Ahhh. I gotcha.

Ignore me. I've been stoned on nyquil for 4 days striaght now.

Yea. He doesn't make market predictions or try to guess where the market will be in 6 months. He buys good companies that are undervalued and holds them, regardless of where the market is.

What are Berkshire shares at now anyways? 4 digits was a long time ago. lol.

Berkshire Hathaway symbol is BRKA closed at 67,500 today, up $400

I don't think I'd have the money to buy entire apartment complexes, but at $40 a month for Loopnet, I think I might be in the wrong business! :)