Five Reasons To Invest In Real Estate

After the Great Depression of the 1930s, the real estate market looked like a 98-pound weakling after going 12 rounds with Mike Tyson in his prime. However, those market conditions sparked a post-Depression boom that sustained 65 straight years of appreciation in real estate. And according to one expert, it’s about to happen again.

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“This economic crisis, while similar to the Great Depression, is also unique in the way that the housing market played a central role”, said Greg Rand, a 20-year real estate veteran and author of Crash-Boom from Career Press. “It is true that this is a once-in-a-generation crisis. It is also true that this is a once-ina-generation opportunity. It’s time to focus on the other side of the coin.” Rand’s argument is that recessions and depressions aren’t just about economics. There are other forces at play, too. “There is a very real economic force called irrational pessimism that is the cause of much economic hardship, not the effect. More people are unemployed because successful businesses are afraid to expand. More people are losing homes they can afford because they are underwater and believe their home will never appreciate again. People with job security are convinced they don’t have it, and live in fear. Irrational pessimism is one reason why today’s situation runs so parallel to the Great Depression.” Rand cites five reasons why now is the best time to put your investment dollars into real estate:

• No Meltdown - There is no housing meltdown. There was a media and Wall Street meltdown centered around a predictable housing correction. Housing will save us in the long haul.
• It’s Not About The Real Estate - The product at issue is not real estate. It’s America. You can own a piece of it, and as far as its long-term value goes, it’s better than Apple stock.
• Flipping Houses is a Myth - The “buy and flip” model is a sucker’s bet. It’s about building real, generational wealth.
• Condo = College Fund - Have a kid, buy a condo. If you invest the right way, you can build an investment portfolio that outperforms all other asset classes.
• Don’t Zoom In, Zoom Out - To understand the stock market you must zoom all the way in and see the pulse of the market, and that changes hourly. To understand real estate, all you have to do is zoom all the way out. If you stand too close you miss the trends, and the trends don’t change with the wind. They stay for the long term.

“It comes down to the idea that no matter how the markets change, no matter which way the winds shift, people will always need a place to live,” Rand added. “That’s been true of America since the first log cabin. If you plug into that concept, and leave fear in a box on the shelf, you can be ahead of the curve and ride the wave of the trends that matter.”

About Greg Rand

Greg Rand is the CEO of OwnAmerica, a company dedicated to the real estate investment market. As host of Rand on Real Estate on WABC Radio, regular commentator on the Fox Business network and columnist for Real Estate Magazine, Greg is the voice of reason for how to build real estate wealth the right way.

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