The Spanish word "real" identifies royalty. The word "estate" means property. Put them together and you get real estate, The Property of Kings. While most of the world understands "real estate" as a term identifying single family homes, they forget that a much larger percentage of the entire marketplace deals with property that is not owner occupied. And this huge majority of the market has not suffered the same devastation as homes. Yes, the single family home market has taken a terrible hit, but much of the remaining market has not.
It is undeniably true that greed, opportunism and misinformation has negatively impacted homes, so much so that their overall value has headed south in a hurry. However for many professional investors, the destructive impact of foreclosure, bankruptcy and personal financial ruin has not only been avoided, but the same recent past has been a time of growth and profitability. For investors who looked carefully, analyzed correctly and bought intelligently, real estate was, and is still, producing wonderful returns and building lasting wealth. Remember, for every person who could not afford their home, there was still a need for housing, so the demand for rental housing increased. When times are tough, people take solace from the stress via eating out, going to the movies or engaging in recreation close to home. In all of these cases, and more, real estate was used to meet the needs of the populous and smart owners profited.
If we learn anything at all from having this bubble burst, we should learn that there is a huge, and I mean gargantuan, difference between investing professionally in real estate and speculating with real estate. There is nothing more frightening than ignorance in action, and the ignorance of economic realities is what caused the crash. Unfortunately, it has also cost many people billions of dollars.
Still, there is a great future in real estate. The rules have changed a bit. It will be tougher as we go forward. But without question, I believe that real estate intelligently bought and professionally managed will still provide superior returns and benefits to any other investment. Real estate has always been the basis for wealth and it will be for the future as well. Buy wisely. Good luck.
It is undeniably true that greed, opportunism and misinformation has negatively impacted homes, so much so that their overall value has headed south in a hurry. However for many professional investors, the destructive impact of foreclosure, bankruptcy and personal financial ruin has not only been avoided, but the same recent past has been a time of growth and profitability. For investors who looked carefully, analyzed correctly and bought intelligently, real estate was, and is still, producing wonderful returns and building lasting wealth. Remember, for every person who could not afford their home, there was still a need for housing, so the demand for rental housing increased. When times are tough, people take solace from the stress via eating out, going to the movies or engaging in recreation close to home. In all of these cases, and more, real estate was used to meet the needs of the populous and smart owners profited.
If we learn anything at all from having this bubble burst, we should learn that there is a huge, and I mean gargantuan, difference between investing professionally in real estate and speculating with real estate. There is nothing more frightening than ignorance in action, and the ignorance of economic realities is what caused the crash. Unfortunately, it has also cost many people billions of dollars.
Still, there is a great future in real estate. The rules have changed a bit. It will be tougher as we go forward. But without question, I believe that real estate intelligently bought and professionally managed will still provide superior returns and benefits to any other investment. Real estate has always been the basis for wealth and it will be for the future as well. Buy wisely. Good luck.