You can do that now. japan property declined for 15 straight years. many commericial properties in central tokyo is like 95% off their peak today. don't expect another bubble though. at the height of the bubble, land price of tokyo is worth th entire U.S. Even the land under imperial palace is worth more than entire california.
I guess the smart money sold their properties in Japan at the height of the bubble. Where is the smart money these days ? Maybe already in gold and other metals ? with more upside expected ?
The RE market goes through a few "psychological phases". The one I believe were in now can be described as, "prices may have peaked, so I'd like to sell mine while the selling is still good". In my area I'm seeing many more houses on the market, but asking seemingly ridiculous prices. (Just because there are lots more houses available for sale does not mean it's a "buyers market"... yet.) One nearby house I like a lot, has been on the market about 9 months. After about 6 months, they lowered the price by 5%. More recently they RAISED the price back to the original asking price. I assume that's a "marketing ploy"... for those watching this house, seeing the price jump back up might induce one buyer (FOOL, perhaps) to pay up... as "asking price is going up, and I'd better get it now before it goes even higher... LOL!... Just another example of sellers holding out for high prices while buyers wait for lower..
^^bigger idiot theory well at work there. If your house is on the market that long and hasn't sold, or much less have a look you either: a) REALLY don't want to sell b) asking way too much (dropping 5% is most likely not going to sell it) c) have a $hitty realtor