The Dow closed today at 8851. In October of last year, the Dow had reached a milestone of over 14,000. Many people, myself included, open mutual fund statements with great trepidation…in fact, I haven’t even looked at statements over the past couple of months, as we are in for the long haul and expect ups and downs in the market. It’s just too bad that this down is so far “down”. In today’s news alone, Circuit City has filed for bankruptcy, AIG is getting a $150billion bailout and DHL is cutting jobs. Automakers are on shaky ground, banks are being bailed out…..the list goes on and on.
Some people are panicking and pulling their money out of the stock market. People are buying T-bills, gold or looking to real estate investment. Interested in investing in real estate?
First, let me say that I am NOT a financial advisor, so before making any investment decisions, talk with your FA, accountant or tax attorney.
Click the following link to see appreciation rates in the Charleston area:
I read an interesting article on Forbes.com about Buying Real Estate- They interviewed Spencer Rascoff of Zillow.com, Michael Feder of Radar Logic, Donald Trump Jr. of the Trump Organization and Peter Slatin of Real Capital Analytics. For the full article click here: http://www.forbes.com/2008/11/04/intelligent-investing-real-estate-lending-stocks-panel.html
Housing prices are down. If sellers price realistically, their homes will sell. Buyers looking for a deal may find it in this buyers market. And if they can hold it for the long term, they may make good returns. Here’s a little insight from Mr. Feder, taken from the Forbes article-
“Feder: Stocks, bonds and real estate are like apples and oranges. Rental buildings are, of course, cash-flow models. If demand for rentals pushes rates up, that model is going to look a lot more attractive than a heavy manufacturer’s bond at 8%. So, respectfully, as Don says, it depends. Short term, financial assets are more liquid and may be better “trades.” Longer term, real estate has done pretty well. It’s certainly competitive with other assets. The evolution of property derivatives should add to the asset’s liquidity. Whatever else, the next few years will be very interesting.”
