We have owned 4 houses since 1978...Etobicoke, rural Ontario, Regina, SK, Markham...every one has AT LEAST doubled in value...Markham will be quadrupled in 13 yrs.  We did not time, just bought and sold as career moves dictated and chose for convenient commuting...maybe we were just lucky but in our circle of friends MAYBE 1 in 10 HAS NOT made good money on home ownership...in fact you could probably line up the people that have not made money on real estate in a couple of blocks in Winnipeg or Prince Albert....