Investing in Real Estate, 7th Edition

Prologue

INVEST IN PROPERTY NOW

Invest in property now. Or forever live with your regrets.

Listen to the wealth-building wisdom of Warren Buffett: “Invest when fear, doubt, and uncertainty grip the mind of the crowd; sell when wild hopes and speculative fever burn away reason.”

The emotional herding of the crowd allows you and me to buy cheap and sell dear. Think through that wise advice offered by the Sage of Omaha. What type of markets offer the best opportunities for future profits? What type of market alleviates risk? To answer these questions, contrast those boom market conditions of yesteryear with the potential-filled market we experience today:

1. Boom: Builders brought to market more than 2 million housing units a year.

   Today: Housing starts have fallen to fewer than 400,000 per year (the lowest level of building since World War II).

2. Boom: Buyers crowded into open houses and model homes to beg sellers or builders to accept their above-asking-price bids. Sellers set prices. No matter how high, buyers willingly paid on the ill-founded assumption that any price would look cheap compared to 12 months later.

   Today: A majority of potential investors and home buyers remain cautious, uncertain, and fearful. Open houses remain sparsely attended. To attract mere lookers, builders are slashing prices and doling out buyer concessions and incentives.

3. Boom: Interest rates averaged plus or minus 6 percent.

   Today: Interest rates of 4.0 to 5.0 percent prevail (at least for now).

4. Boom: Inflation ...