So you know Im gonna disagree. If you sold in 2003 you missed the biggest part of the gains and you dont have to be lucky with RE like stocks. RE doesnt turn quickly. You could have sold anytime from Feb 2004 through July 2007 and done significantly better than selling in 2003. You probably could have sold for a lot more in 08 or 09 than 03 also but would have given up significant parts of the incremenetal gain. With RE you have plenty of time to sell near the top if you sell once things start turning down.

Buying is another matter as leverage works against you not for you as it will owning/selling RE. I will agree you dont have to catch exact tops or bottoms in RE to be successful.

But a sell now imperative with RE is a fools folly IMO.

Also he said sell because things (equities) are already way over stretched. the implication was the bounce back from March decline was illusory as was the run up to March. It was a sell now call not in 6 months

example: house next to me sold in Nov 2003. Even at the absolute bottom it at best matched that price between 2009 and 2011.