like miles said there re a number of options for those who have been sitting the past year out (in terms of shares & perhaps property) and the question is where will the money flow...
I would say that given the state of the curent share market being 50% down from their highs and potentially good dividendes the share market looks pretty attractive in terms of yeilds and the potential for good capital growth. however 2009 will be interesting as a lot of comapnies earning will be down quite a bit compared to the bull years IMO. however when the economy picks up again, it should be good for everyone.
with property its a bit harder to predict i think - i have very little knowledge on this area but it would seem (just like shares) that you could buy a property now and it would be good value and produce gains and good rental yields - unlike the stock market where you know the exact price of the share, the price of a property is subject to being very illiquid and what i'm really trying to say is it depends on the specific property you buy.
Historically when there is a stock market crash it is followed by a housing crash... i don't think we have seen a housing crash in Australia yet and again historically shares often are aleading indicator for a recovery (which may or may not be happening right now)
