I have to disagree a bit here. I remember at that time, 2009, nobody knew whether the market had bottomed out or not. There was still extreme nervousness with

I have to disagree a bit here. I remember at that time, 2009, nobody knew whether the market had bottomed out or not. There was still extreme nervousness with regards to asset prices. Prices actually bottomed out in around 2012, which is when my wife and I bought our first house. We didn't do it because we knew it was going to be the bottom; it just so happened to be when we had saved up some money and found a place we liked. Point being, I think the OP is correct; most people in 2009 were saying not to buy, from an investment perspective, because it was thought that prices were likely to keep dropping.