right now is just about the worst time in the last 3 decades to invest in real estate
Correction: right now is just about the worst time in the last 3 decades to already have invested in real estate.
Most of the smaller investors I know who have cash to spend instead of struggling for survival are snapping up some incredible bargains. Even though values are way down, the rental market is relatively strong, at least in the areas I've looked at. I have friends buying large fully-occupied cash-flowing apartment complexes in metro areas for forty cents on the dollar. The difficulty is mainly in financing the deals, not finding them.
> The difficulty is mainly in financing the deals, not finding them.
I suspect the reasoning for that is because the long term prospects of owning property for rent are not as rosy as they seems, once your renters start defaulting you have a real problem.
A slump in the housing market usually also depresses the rental market, but that lags behind quite a bit.
On a positive note, it may be preferable to own any kind of object with intrinsic value over cash.
Correction: right now is just about the worst time in the last 3 decades to already have invested in real estate.
Most of the smaller investors I know who have cash to spend instead of struggling for survival are snapping up some incredible bargains. Even though values are way down, the rental market is relatively strong, at least in the areas I've looked at. I have friends buying large fully-occupied cash-flowing apartment complexes in metro areas for forty cents on the dollar. The difficulty is mainly in financing the deals, not finding them.