Great news - the sky is falling
Saturday, July 22nd, 2006Hey everybody, great news - the real estate market may well be crashing! OK, that’s a little sarcastic, but the point is that there are 2 sides to every coin. If you are currently sitting on a whole pile of properties, then you might not be too pleased about the prospect of your net worth plunging. However, if you are looking to buy, what can be better than a fire sale on real estate?
One thing to take into account when you read any articles about the real estate market - national trends may be interesting, but unless you are so rich that you have properties in every market, the national trend is somewhat irrelevant. What matters is what is happening in your neck of the woods. Who cares about California if your properties are in Missouri?
That being said, for-sale inventories are rising across the country, and prices appear to be getting soft. It might be time to start getting liquid and seeking bargains. When’s the last time that happened?
In our area, prices have skyrocketed in recent years, such that cash-flow positive deals are hard to come by. We run the numbers through the Real Estate Genius calculator, and all we’ve seen is projections of red ink. But if prices pull back 10-15%, that might all change. If you’re a buyer, you’re going to be much happier in a buyer’s market! Start keeping your eyes open.
