Are real estate investors back on the wagon of investing in today’s market?

While some real estate investors and would-be real estate investors shied away from the market over the past few years, others never left.

What’s the secret of those with staying power? It’s really not a secret at all. As the landscape of the housing markets across the country continue to change, this spells great opportunity for savvy real estate investors who recognize it. These are the investors who are well-prepared, willing and able to adapt their strategies and systems to meet the existing terrain.

Over the past few years, many of the investors who secured a strong foothold in the market did so by successfully buying up short sales and foreclosures at rapid rates. Several investors chose to take advantage of the lower interest rates and the influx of decreased property prices to start building or expanding their residential property portfolios. They bought low, renovated and sold the properties at higher prices, and/or rented the properties out.  Many of these same investors who recognized the opportunities present in the past few years are now looking forward to digging in for the coming year as well.

The nation’s largest and most active real estate investing social network, and MemphisInvest.com one of the nation’s leading providers of single-family rental real estate investment services ranging from acquisition to property management, found that most active real estate investors (65% to be exact) plan to buy as many or more residential properties in the next 12 months as they did in the past year. That’s not all either. The survey also indicated that 39% of the real estate investors said they plan to increase their purchases over the next 12 months, and 26% of the real estate investors said they plan to buy about the same amount of properties as they did in the previous year. MemphisInvest.com would know. They bought and sold over 300 properties in 2011 alone and over 250 properties in the first quarter of 2012. In fact, they are on track to buy and sell over 600 homes in 2012. 

Right now short sales and foreclosures continue to hit the market. Interest rates remain low. Rental rates continue to improve. Seems like the perfect storm heading straight towards those with the know-how and the tools to harness its power.

Source:
Real Estate Investment Realities National Survey of Residential Real Estate Investors. BiggerPockets.com and MemphisInvest.com. September 2012.