I feel there won't be any big growth for a while in general in North America. The last 10 years have seen the stock market up and down like a yo-yo and now real estate. I think people will learn (for a few years anyways...until they forget) that "get rich quick" is a pipedream for most of us. But watch out because the ups and downs aren't done yet. So why has the Stock Market and now Real Estate been so volatile over the last ten years?
There are so many new tools in the last 10 years for people to buy and sell stocks/real estate for themselves (the Internet being the biggest contributor) that people haven't yet figured out they're not the smartest guy on the block. I can't remember where I read it recently (it might have been that really great book on the stock market "Devil Take the Hindmost" but I'm not sure) but the author put forth a very plausible hypothesis (with lots of evidence) that the ups and downs of the last 10 years are because so many people are no longer one level removed from investing (they do it themselves instead of going through an allegedly intelligent broker) and human illogic and emotion are causing the huge swings. I say hypothesis, but it is not far from proven fact.
I have no doubt the volatility will subside for a time as folks accept market realities, but we aren't out of the woods yet. Check out my next post for more.