"The nice lady at the bank told me that I really should be looking at a house as an investment since house prices always go up. I replied, well until they go down. She looked at me as if were from another planet and said well, not in Vancouver."

“Linda (a wealthy woman who rents) ran into her account manager. “He told me that the bank is forecasting stable prices and perhaps a small softening based on what’s happening in China. He then asked if we were getting ready to buy yet. I told him that we were happy renting especially since a home we desire in the neighbourhood we like would cost between $1.5 to $2 million. He then inquired if that was our budget. We could certainly ‘afford’ – whatever that means -  a home in that price range. I told him however, that it wasn’t in the cards because we weren’t interested in a fat mortgage. He looked absolutely offended as if I’d launched a personal attack. Then, the nice lady at the bank, who had overheard this conversation told me that I really should be looking at a house as an investment since house prices always go up. And I replied, well until they go down. She looked at me as if were from another planet and said well, not in Vancouver. At that point I realized that I was from another planet – the one inhabited by sane people.”
- anecdote relayed by Garth Turner at greaterfool.ca 12 Jan 2012