I had dinner with a friend (and let's call him G) who is the academic sort. He spends a lot of time with plants and I have been picking his brains with regards to caring for my little planter in the sky. One of the things we talked about during our after dinner chat was real estate investment. We were really gossiping because a mutual friend bought a condo unit a year or so ago and is now under water (i.e. the developer slashed prices for the remaining units). I said to G that since this mutual friend of ours bought it because he likes the condo and wants to stay there, then, let us close an eye. It is a consumption item. For many, it is hard to be rational about a highly emotive thing like a home. G told me that I was mistaken. It was bought as an investment. Alamak, as an ......