Dragon 99, I'm always happy to be corrected and should have put up a clearer chart and explained in more detail.
If we are looking at the first 10 years, yes, then the prices almost doubled.
However, any price differential is open to interpretation, depending on the years we are looking at. I did say "about 10 years" and was looking from 1989 onwards where the movement until 1997 was not that exciting. This is a period of 8 years (apologies for the previous exaggeration).
If you're taking into account all the expenses with ownership, then it's hard to see where a profit could be made without buying and selling astutely in the same market. Having bought and sold 6 times in 30 years, always buying under value and selling to the highest bidder, I can tell you that it can be done, but not everyone has the skills, knowledge and time to do this, so it is certainly a time to be wary and take a look at history.
Thanks for giving me the opportunity to explain further. I would not want anyone to be put off investing. The saying goes "it's always a good time to buy real estate". People just need to be fully acquainted with the facts and possibilities. I am no expert, just thought it would be a good idea to take a look at a chart for a visual explanation.
8 years of little growth is not what all investors would be hoping for and there are no guarantees this can't happen again. Just compare the CPI to the house prices.
