Self Help

Well we’ve heard a multitude of reasons not to invest in real estate from the naysayers out there. There’s no doubt that in some areas the market is saturated with too many apartments, and there are also decaying neighborhoods, and taxes are getting out of control. You might also hear some potential investors saying things like:

“The times just aren’t right for buying” or,
“The tax laws aren’t good for the investor” or,
“I could have made a fortune if I had started buying real estate back in the 1970s.”

There’s no doubt that the real estate investing business is a constantly changing business, but it’s important to realize that these changes, for the most part, are cyclical rather than unchanging. This means that the market and the prices of real estate can and will vary through the various low and high cycles.

For instance, in the late 1980s and 1990s, real estate was experiencing a low cycle in most parts of the country. Investment properties hadn’t been moving as readily as they had in the past. Prices, for the most part (and there certainly were exceptions and variations to this, depending on location), held steady, and most investors found that their properties hadn’t appreciated as strongly as they had in the past. In fact, in some cases values depreciated.

Now, however, in the 21st century, this situation has been changing. Interest in investment property, especially since the stock market took such a tumble, has increased. Is real estate still a good investment? Yes, money can be made in this business. And, no, the benefits haven’t disappeared. Maybe some of the “easy money” is gone - but good money can still be made.

There are a lot of people out there who think that real estate was much easier to buy in the past because the prices were lower. You might hear comments like: “Yeah, when you bought property back then, you could buy a house for $50,000, $60,000. You were lucky.” But remember, back then when houses were selling for that price, everything else was less wages, and lumber, and service calls, and even a loaf of bread. It’s all relative.

As you look into this business, you should know right from the start that, despite the ups and downs of the real estate market and prices, regardless of all the unpredictability of our economic system, and notwithstanding all the foreclosures and bankruptcies we hear and read about, the real estate investment business is a moneymaker.