Commercial Property

The real estate market tends to be cyclical with some periods favoring buyers and other periods favoring sellers. As with other free markets, the pricing and availability of real estate is directly related to the forces of supply and demand. While many real estate markets in the United States are experiencing a substantial slowdown, other markets remain robust, and some even continue to grow. What makes the situation even more complicated is that even within a particular city or county, there may be some areas that are hot and others that are cold.

In regions of the country in which the real estate market is slowing, there are some things homebuyers can do to increase their chance of getting the property that they want on terms that are favorable. Below are some strategies to consider:

1. Clarify What You Want. Be sure to understand what kind of property you want (e.g. bedrooms, bathrooms, size, yard, location, etc.). Identify items that you “must have” and items that you would be willing to forego if your other priorities were met.

2. Consult Experts. You’ve no doubt heard the saying that “all real estate is local,” so arm yourself with the best information available. Consult a local real estate expert who can guide you about what communities are hot and which ones are not. Obviously, you are more likely to find deals in communities that have excess supply and limited demand than vice versa.

3. Understand Market Data. Obtaining and evaluating data can be one of the most powerful tools in your arsenal. Identify communities that you find desirable and ask your real estate agent to provide you relevant sales statistics. For example, your agent can provide you:

a. A summary of how many properties are available in communities that you deem desirable.

b. How long properties are taking to sell this month, last month, last quarter, last year, etc.

c. How many properties have sold this month, last month, last quarter, last year, etc.

d. Changes in the median and average price of properties for a community this month, last month, last quarter, last year, etc.

e. Data on the sales price to list price ratio (SP: LP). This ratio provides information about how much, on average, sellers are reducing their price.

f. Detailed data on properties that are similar to the type of property you desire (often known as “comparables” or “comps”).

4. High Inventory Communities. Identify, or ask your agent to identify, communities that appear to be particularly slow, and that have an unusually large inventory of homes. You will have a broader variety of options in these communities, and you may increase the likelihood of finding a better deal.

5. Loan Pre-Approval. Be sure to consult with your bank or mortgage broker and obtain a loan pre-approval document. This not only let’s you know how much you can afford, but it also demonstrates to sellers that you are a serious buyer and that your offer is worthy of serious consideration.

6. Seller’s Motivation. While information about why a seller is selling is usually confidential, there are situations in which the seller will allow their agent to disclose important factors regarding their personal situation. Be sure to ask your agent to inquire about any information that the seller has disclosed to his/her agent that can be conveyed to your agent. This information may help you decide on making an offer on a property and the price you wish to offer.

7. Home Inspection. A home inspection conducted by a qualified inspector can provide you valuable information about the condition of a property. Moreover, if there are items that need repair or replacement, you can use this information to modify your offer price or terms.

8. Expand Search Scope. As mentioned above, even within a particular city or county, there may be some areas that are hot and others that are not. Be sure to provided detailed information about what you want to your agent, so that he/she can provide you a variety of community options.

9. Be Patient. Time is on your side when there is excess supply and insufficient demand. Try not to “fall in love” with a house so much that you cannot be objective. It may be that multiple offers and counter-offers occur before you either get the property you want or decide to walk way from a deal. You may also want to look at more properties than you normally would, so that you are exposed to a variety of options.

While the above is not an exhaustive list of strategies, it is a good starting point of issues to consider when buying real estate, particularly in a market that favors buyers. Obtain the services of a knowledgeable Real Estate agent who can provide you with additional strategies to help you reach your real estate objectives.

I want to share some psychological pitfalls that many budding investors fall into as they begin their careers as professional real estate investors I have told my students time and time again that while the strategies and techniques they use in investing are definitely important, the most important element that successful real estate investors possess is a healthy psychology of investing. In other words, successful investors possess the right beliefs about money and the correct mental approach to investing in real estate. This approach will put you far ahead of the crowd as you continue to pursue your total financial freedom through active real estate investing.

Pitfall #1 – Falling In Love With The Property

Many people make an unnecessary mistake when they begin their careers as active investors. They put as much passion into purchasing an investment property as they do when purchasing their own residence. Investing in investment property should be a passionless endeavor. Let me explain what I mean. When purchasing an investment property, the decision to make the deal should be all about the numbers involved and nothing about your emotions as an investor. When people purchase homes they are going to live in, they purchase emotionally. They ask themselves if they “like” the house, if they will “enjoy” living in the neighborhood, and might finally get around to considering the numbers of the deal as a third or fourth course of action. “Liking” a home and “enjoying” the neighborhood that it is in are all emotional issues.

When successful real estate investors evaluate an investment property, they are exclusively concerned about numbers. They ask themselves questions like, “Can I purchase this property for a wholesale price?”, or “Is there enough room for a healthy spread if I use this house as a Cash Flow tool?” These are facts questions that have very little if anything to do with a person’s emotions. When purchasing investment properties, keep your emotions out of it. Just buy properties that work numbers-wise. You will be glad you did.

Pitfall #2 – Being Too Greedy

One major pitfall, especially for Quick Cash investors, is the danger of being too greedy. They get a great wholesale deal on a property and then try to sell it above retail instead of at or a little below retail. Consequently, they have to hang on to the property too long and end up losing more than they gain by holding out for the greed factor. Listen, being too greedy, especially on Quick Cash deals, will come back to bite you. Remember, the beauty of QUICK cash is the QUICK part.  Price your Quick Cash deals to move. Make money, but move them so that you can get on to the next deal and make more money. The key to great Quick Cash deals is in the volume, not just the spread.

Why are some folks susceptible to being too greedy? It’s because they subconsciously fear that this deal will be their last. We call that a scarcity mindset in the financial realm. Don’t fall prey to that. There are plenty of deals out there. This Quick Cash deal won’t be your last, unless you want it to be. So have an abundance mindset instead of a scarcity mindset and move forward by pricing your deals to sell.

Pitfall #3 – Thinking You Know It All

One pitfall that many people fall into after they have been investing for a while is the belief that they know everything there is to know about real estate investing. Listen, the market is always changing and the rules are, to an extent, always in a state of flux. There is always something more to learn in the realm of active real estate investing. Maybe the learning curve will be diminished for those who have learned the basics of real estate investing. In other words, maybe there won’t be as MUCH to learn, but there will always be distinctions to be made. So never stop learning.

These are the 3 major psychological pitfalls that plague some potentially successful investors. Be aware of them and you will be ahead of the game. Remembering what you have your sights set on in the first place will help you achieve you goal of total financial freedom.

Following the past 2 years of decline, a full market recovery is highly unlikely during 2010. The strongest developments towards recovery will be experienced in markets where controls existed for avoiding excessive lending, speculative buying and instability. Regions that have been hardest hit during the downfall of the real estate market have taken strong steps to avoid continued excessive decline. Control strategies will begin to show their results throughout 2010, with the hardest hit markets beginning to stabilise, while growth patterns emerge in the markets least affected by the downturn.

Investment approaches will evolve from excessive speculative buying into strategies with improved stability and market demand. Long term investments and buy-to-let ventures are expected to be the strongest growth areas, with fewer risks involved and excellent gains potential due to the exceptionally low priced investment options available in both emerging and established markets.

In order to fully understand the position of world real estate markets and the outlook for 2010, it is necessary to understand issues relating to the lead up to the world real estate market downturn. How these issues have affected the market will assist in understanding the coming year’s ideal investment strategies and selections most suitable for optimum returns.

The Mortgage Market

The mortgage market and loan financing has largely contributed to the sharp downturn in many world real estate markets. The lack of control in the sector resulted in excessive lending and often an absence of credit checks. This caused many mortgage holders to default on payments when the economy became strained.

The extent of the effects the mortgage market has contributed to the downturn in the real estate sector can be seen when comparing countries with traditionally strict lending practices against those where financing was readily and easily obtainable. Controlled markets have resisted severe downturns viewing recovery potential during 2010, while lenient markets continue their struggle to maintain stability.

Responding to the need for financing to assist with the turnaround in the real estate sector, central banks have reduced interest rates, expected to remain at record low levels until sometime in mid 2010. While the ability to finance properties has enabled an optimum moment to enter the real estate market, restrictions on lending criteria has become widespread, leaving many potential buyers unable to qualify for mortgage financing.

Supply and Demand

A slowdown of new construction projects in various locations around the world has been designed to assist in bridging the gap of excessive supply against demand. Locations with an excessive supply of housing for sale on the market are expected to take longer to recuperate from the downturn, as less competition is available for bringing up property prices.

While the prices in these areas remain low, investors searching for long term return potential may be able to find some optimum bargain opportunities, yet the long term growth is likely to be considerably less compared with areas where the supply and demand of properties is ideally balanced.

‘Buyers Market’ Benefits

2010 will continue to be an optimum buyer’s market, where those in a position to purchase will continue to receive and negotiate optimum deals. A sharp turnaround from the seller’s market environment of the recent past, equity enabled investors are facing the ideal market conditions to access the best deals expected to be available for many years. If investing for long term benefits, these buyers may also be in positions to once again benefit from a future turnaround into ‘seller’s market’ conditions.

Long Term Investment Returns

Investments based on long term return scenarios will be the most viable for 2010 in both emerging and established markets. As the real estate market in very few regions are expected to show any significant growth patterns during 2010, short term investment options are unlikely to prove successful.

As the real estate sector emerges from its present turmoil over the coming years, long term investments will provide the most significant growth potential. Long term investments also provide the least risk, an important consideration in the current market situation.

Expanding Buy-to-Let Interest

Investor interest to enter the buy-to-let market is expected to significantly increase during 2010 as the situation of the real estate market has provided ideal foundations for successful buy-to-let investments. As resources have become increasingly limited for many wishing to enter the real estate market, long term letting properties are increasing in demand.

Properties ideally situated for short term lettings will also provide investors with sought after yield returns due to the increasing demand for self catering accommodation. The expected growth in the buy-to-let market is predicted to increase competition in the market, therefore optimising properties for letting and correct advertising will further the potential in each local market.

Ideal Investment Locations

Buyers are increasingly looking into particular areas for investment strategies that suit their personal preferences, with fewer looking into markets purely for its investment potential. This has followed the sharp downturn in many of the emerging markets that were previously popular for short term investment strategies.

As benefits abound across all regions in the current market position, considerations relating to the preferential investment strategy will assist in deciding whether the selected location is ideal for investing during 2010. Research is essential for ensuring the correct location for investments, taking into consideration the local demand, supply and letting market saturation.

Looking into the market’s previous peak levels in comparison with the current downturn levels will provide some information relating to the length of time the investment will take to recuperate previous peaks in a stabilised market. Considering the loan availability and arranging a fixed rate loan for the longest time period possible will enable an excellent financing option to combine with the low priced properties. Taking advantage of the excellent financing options currently available will further benefit with optimising the potential gains obtainable due to the current market conditions.

As it is difficult to pin-point one particular location for providing optimum investment scenarios during 2010, observing conditions relating to the stability and growth potential, along with the supply and demand of the chosen regions will assist in selecting a suitable investment location. These conditions should include the overall stability of the real estate sector, the strength of the country’s economy and the government’s encouragement towards both foreign investment and tourism. Locations that have been hardest hit by the economic and real estate downturn are predicted to require the longest recovery periods, creating less potential investment growth over a similar timeframe in comparison to more stable markets.