Invest In Real Estate - But Where?

Where should you invest in real estate? If you know an area well, and have enough experience investing in real estate, you can make money almost anywhere. However, there are always places that are better or worse for real estate investments - places that have a better demand/supply ratio. Use the questions below to find them.

Demand Questions

1. Is the population growing fast? Check the US Census figures online, or ask the local government if they have the statistics. Stay away from areas that have little growth.

2. Is job growth decent? Again, ask local authorities or use the census information. You want to see job growth equal to or exceeding population growth. The people have to have money to pay for housing.

3. Decent quality of life? This is subjective, but important. Are there theaters and bookstores? Count coffee shops and cafes. Trendy areas usually have increasing demand for housing. It's also a good indication of a high quality-of-life if people are willing to take lower-paying jobs just to live there.

4. Wealth in the area? It is always a good sign when there is some degree of wealth in a town. Count rich homes. Wealth means everything doesn't die when the economy slows.

Supply Questions

1. How much new construction? The census figures can tell you what's happened over the last ten years. Then check with the local authorities to see if the the number of housing units they've issued permits for is more or less than the expected population growth.

2. How many homes for sale? A lower supply of homes for sale means upward pressure on prices. This indirectly drives up rents as well, which makes for better investing.

3. Rent and vacancy levels? Are rents high enough to justify investing? Are vacancies low? When we first came to Tucson, every building had vacancies, and we saw a man holding a sign that read, "Apartment - $250 Per Month." Great place for renters, but not a great place to invest in real estate.

4. Available land that is buildable? Less is better for future appreciation. When the land runs out, the prices start accelerating upwards.

Use these questions to compare various towns and cities, and you'll see the differences more clearly. You'll see how housing demand compares to supply in each. Finally, you'll see where it is better to invest in real estate.

Steve Gillman has invested real estate for years. To learn more, and to see a photo of a beautiful house he and his wife bought for $17,500, visit http://www.HousesUnderFiftyThousand.com

MORE RESOURCES:

Hypo Real Estate Gets EU20 Billion Guarantee From Rescue Fund - Bloomberg

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd width=80 align=center valign=topfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifa href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/0i-0fd=Rurl=http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/nov/22/virginia-asks-navy-to-delay-base-move/cid=1272970285ei=e9UnSc7iO5WO9QTftKUXusg=AFQjCNHDpA5ePmFFXvRF9_B6HvJLXWE_pwimg src=http://news.google.com/news?imgefp=sFePmluJNTwJimgurl=media.washingtontimes.com/media/img/photos/2008/11/20/AUTO_001_r329x151.JPG%3Fe315d4515574cec417b1845392ba687dd98c17ce width=80 height=37 alt= border=1brfont size=-2Washington Times/font/a/font/tdtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/0-0fd=Rurl=http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news%3Fpid%3D20601100%26sid%3Da_tWZcQXw0Pw%26refer%3Dgermanycid=1272970285ei=e9UnSc7iO5WO9QTftKUXusg=AFQjCNFKAwS8v_bm4QfbwtoiecpQvtJ88AHypo bReal Estate/b Gets EU20 Billion Guarantee From Rescue Fund/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fBloombergnbsp;-/font nobr16 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-121 (Bloomberg) -- Hypo bReal Estate/b Holding AG, the German property lender bailed out by the German government and financial institutions last month, b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/0-1fd=Rurl=http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iUnm1V9WJblKt9BR2u9troModrrwD94JFGBG0cid=1272970285ei=e9UnSc7iO5WO9QTftKUXusg=AFQjCNEWWIGOjfdTtFDxukm3zTme0Ds26AHypo bReal Estate/b to receive euro20 billion loan/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrThe Associated Press/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/0-2fd=Rurl=http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/feedarticle/8057611cid=1272970285ei=e9UnSc7iO5WO9QTftKUXusg=AFQjCNEzzpbLnrFCw7Qy-wwDG0S34VYgsw1-Hypo Real gets 20 bln euros in govt guarantees/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrguardian.co.uk/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/0-3fd=Rurl=http://www.ad-hoc-news.de/DGAP-Adhoc-DEPFA-Deutsche-Pfandbriefbank-AG-SoFFin--/de/Unternehmensnachrichten/19883103cid=1272970285ei=e9UnSc7iO5WO9QTftKUXusg=AFQjCNGIICR84rhAchMyNj2P7TwbRdvo3ADGAP-Adhoc: DEPFA Deutsche Pfandbriefbank AG: SoFFin grants EUR 20 b.../b/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrAd-Hoc-News (Pressemitteilung)/nobr/font/fontbrfont class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1272970285hl=ennobrall 115 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table

Target rejects Pershing#39;s proposals on real estate structure - MarketWatch

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/1-0fd=Rurl=http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/target-rejects-pershings-proposals-real/story.aspx%3Fguid%3D%257B677B96B0-0937-41A1-8F0F-2A51CB077AD5%257D%26dist%3Dmsr_3cid=1273025777ei=e9UnSc7iO5WO9QTftKUXusg=AFQjCNHwCvbYxIot2L_GA1fgBv3Vg-v0cATarget rejects Pershing#39;s proposals on breal estate/b structure/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fMarketWatchnbsp;-/font nobr10 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1Ackman had proposed that Target spin off the land it owns into a breal estate/b investment trust in a bid to boost the company#39;s value. b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/1-1fd=Rurl=http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122731689706849897.html%3Fmod%3Dgooglenews_wsjcid=1273025777ei=e9UnSc7iO5WO9QTftKUXusg=AFQjCNEOF_1cxUV5VwCBRh3LQmst4-G1kATarget Corp. Won#39;t Pursue Pershing bReal-Estate/b Plans/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrWall Street Journal/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/1-2fd=Rurl=http://www.reuters.com/article/ousiv/idUSTRE4AK7XV20081121cid=1273025777ei=e9UnSc7iO5WO9QTftKUXusg=AFQjCNELF0YXK7gVX7VKpHt7Q-_wdw6OyATarget rejects Pershing#39;s breal estate/b proposal/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrReuters/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/1-3fd=Rurl=http://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/stories/2008/11/17/daily51.htmlcid=1273025777ei=e9UnSc7iO5WO9QTftKUXusg=AFQjCNHHgaX6J-3quK7s9Q4IRb1uGOeVMgTarget rejects Pershing#39;s breal estate/b proposal/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrBizjournals.com/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1 class=pa href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/1-4fd=Rurl=http://newsticker.welt.de/index.php%3Fchannel%3Dfin%26module%3Dsmarthouse%26id%3D814291cid=1273025777ei=e9UnSc7iO5WO9QTftKUXusg=AFQjCNG1TRrndWCSGI2ftmvaiZQk4DCn7QnobrWELT ONLINE/nobr/anbsp;- a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/1-5fd=Rurl=http://uk.reuters.com/article/consumerproducts-SP/idUKN2149409720081121cid=1273025777ei=e9UnSc7iO5WO9QTftKUXusg=AFQjCNErV_PBEPKHlveK_uvX4ThPm-fjlAnobrReuters UK/nobr/a/fontbr/font class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1273025777hl=ennobrall 414 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table

Real-estate agents to buyers: Can we talk? - Seattle Times

NAR, REAL ESTATE CHANNEL Create Online News Partnership - MarketWatch

Web sites offer real estate agent rankings - The Associated Press

Real-estate investment firm fights to stay afloat - Arizona Republic

Pure Industrial Real Estate Trust announces November distribution - FOXBusiness

Citigroup says commercial real estate bigger issue now for banks - Reuters

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd width=80 align=center valign=topfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifa href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/7i-0fd=Rurl=http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSTRE4AJ45G20081120cid=1273013942ei=e9UnSc7iO5WO9QTftKUXusg=AFQjCNHdeGTBZn9vFFl44NX1EY79izmQeAimg src=http://news.google.com/news?imgefp=a4_5Az-9orAJimgurl=www.reuters.com/resources/r/%3Fm%3D02%26d%3D20081120%26t%3D2%26i%3D6894209%26w%3D192%26r%3D2008-11-20T221527Z_01_BTRE4AJ182400_RTROPTP_0_AIRBUS-ALWALEED width=80 height=58 alt= border=1brfont size=-2Reuters/font/a/font/tdtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/7-0fd=Rurl=http://www.reuters.com/article/innovationNewsFinancialServicesAndRealEstate/idUSTRE4AK6KA20081121cid=1273013942ei=e9UnSc7iO5WO9QTftKUXusg=AFQjCNEknIvDvm6lOZfVDa2IXpjGDgh8FQCitigroup says commercial breal estate/b bigger issue now for banks/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fReutersnbsp;-/font nobr14 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1(Reuters) - Commercial breal estate/b is becoming a bigger issue for US banks after the Treasury decided that funds under the Troubled Asset Relief Program b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/7-1fd=Rurl=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/23/business/23gret.htmlcid=1273013942ei=e9UnSc7iO5WO9QTftKUXusg=AFQjCNEAjAu7tOAN1RWmewC2PCK8idmLvwThat Money Isn’t Leaving the Vault/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrNew York Times/nobr/font/fontbrfont class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1273013942hl=ennobrall 36 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table

Real estate recovery not seen until 2011 - Seattle Post Intelligencer

Real estate group backs sick leave law challenge - Bizjournals.com

Real-Estate - Google News

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