realistic expectations

Let's be realistic in what we wish for. I have been on this forum for as long as anyone. I read the exact same posts back in 2001. Everyone was calling it a bubble and that prices will fall over a cliff. Mr Keen himself predicted price falls back then, but what else is new. AT that time I bought more as a lifestyle investment, rather than a financial investment. Then, in 2008 I was within an inch of selling as the same Mr Keen and every other expert predicted a 40% drop. Hotcopper was full of the same stories in 2001 as there were in 2008 as there are in 2011. Most of those people throughout that period have come and gone, but i see that Kincella has stuck solid.

This forum at times really loses credibility when i see someone make a good constructive argument "for" property and get no credit for it. Then i check one day and I read a post saying "burn baby burn" and that person got 6 thumbs ups. This forum is obviously about the haves and have nots of the property market.

To think the market will drop by 30% or so is ridiculous. People are forgeting that in a lot of places, especially within 10km of a city, rents will make it attractive for buyers to enter the market. People are forgeting that yields would rise so much that it would be stupid to rent. This is because if the property market drops as much as people think (more likely hope), it is likely tha interest rates will be lower (probably much lower) than what they are today. This will obviously cusion the market

I am realistic in seeing that a person should be careful in deciding whether or not to buy property now. I really can't see any reason why there will be significant growth in the forseeable future. However, i can't see any reason for a "bubble to burst".

All i know is that prices may fall, and they definitely are at the moment. But, my tenants (i moved out 6 years ago) are paying significantly more than they did 6 years ago and it looks as though interest rates are going to be lower than what they were 6 years ago. Rental yields + low interest rates will shield the market from any collapse in the market. Could have been worse. I could have had all my money leveraged into the stock market over the past 6 years.