Making money through real estate investing can be a
fickle business. Here's a surprising trend that can put
money into your pocket.
Traditionally those of us who own rental property looked
upon condos as competition. They offered a relatively
low cost way for renters to move into home ownership.
This demand for condos has fooled many of us. With low
rates of interest on home loans and plenty of money
available... the logical expectation would be that instead
of buying condos, buyers would move into the single family home
market.
Of course... many of them have and home prices continue
in an upward trend. But thousands are choosing condos
rather that a detached home.
The National Association of Realtors reports that condo
sales averaged less than 200,000 annually in the 1980s.
That number jumped to 500,000 in the 1990s... and over
the last three years has rocketed to over 800,000 each
year.
Take note of this.... In quarter number two of 2004,
condo sales nearly hit the 1 million mark.
Right now the condo market is hot in most parts of the
country. Prices have reached record levels and
continue to climb.
While condo values go up... the rental market has gone soft.
That has prompted many of the biggest apartment owners to
begin converting apartment complexes into condos.
The are converting their own complexes while looking for
other existing buildings to buy and convert.
The business has become so profitable that many of these
big guys are slowly moving out of the apartment business
by either converting owned properties, buying others... or
building new condo developments.
This is a wake up call for the small real estate investor.
Start looking for motivated condo owners!
You can use most of the same tactics you use to buy single
family homes.
