Throughout each day, I am taken back by conversations I have with people I come across. Since most of them know I am in the Real Estate industry, one question That always comes up. "When is the real Estate Market going to turn around"?
My first reaction is a standard one. "who knows". I always like to put a number on my answer though and say, "a couple of years at least".
I have been thinking about it lately and I really think that my pat answer is a cop out. What does a Real Estate market Turn around really mean. If they are asking when is the price of their home going to be back to where it was before the crash ( which I'm sure that's their main concern) the answer is more complicated and probably not what they want to hear. that answer would have to take into account where they live, and what they think their house was really worth at the peak.
The real answer is that for some, the Real estate market has turned around!
Now I'm sure that for many of the people I talk to, their first reaction to that answer would be that I must be smoking something funny, but after they hear my explanation they may have a different reaction.
The Real Estate turn around has happened for the people who at the time of the boom were not in the position to buy, or for those who just refused to to get caught up in the frenzy. The people who are the latter of course feel that their prudent skepticism has been proven right. The people who buy today in the long run will be the winners of the Real Estate game so to speak. Just like in the Monopoly game, you want to buy low, hold , build equity and sit back and collect the profits. Just like the Monopoly game we all must keep going around the board of life. Everyday we throw the dice to see where we end up. The decisions we make will shape our financial future. We can buy the property we land on or pass, but always keep in mind that if we pass we may end up paying rent to the one who decided to buy the next time around the board. Just think back as kids when we played the game. What if we followed the rules of the game into our lives. Real Estate will always have ups and downs, but people will always need a place to live, or work. If done right, no matter what happens profits can be made with a Real Estate investment. Just keep the long view, the people who lost were those who had a short view. These are the times to start to build your Real estate portfolio, Then in a few years you will be the one waiting for all the others to "Pass Go" and land on one of your assets.