I had the chance to purchase a house for $25,000 in 1976.  My friend decided to sell it to his sister instead.  Three years later it was worth $50,000.  I finally bought a couple of years after, but found myself wishing I had bought a bunch of property "back then".

I was fortunate to carry three properties during the recent boom, but wish I had bought more "back then" in the 1990's.  Many people wish they had bought just one back then.  The good news:  It is back then.  Prices in some areas and for some properties have rolled back seven or more years.

It's not well known, but if you examine statistics over time, you can see that some markets perform better in a "buyers market", while others decline.  And while everyone does well in a sellers market, typically those "other" areas do best.  I call this the "quality effect".

Buyers of any kind of product or service want quality (and value).  During a buyers market, when there is a lot to pick and choose from, the money gravitates to quality, or what the public perceives to be quality.  So those areas and properties that the market perceives as quality do the best, (or suffer the least) during a market like this.  Conversely, during a boom, all real estate is considered a quality investment and money flows to the lower priced areas, causing a boom that can sometimes push prices too high.

This cycle has opened up some tremendous opportunities.  In some of our areas that are not perceived as quality, there are great properties at great values.  Some can be bought at 1990's prices.  Even in some of the "so called quality areas", there are fixer-uppers at bargain prices.

We are about to reach the peak inventory level of this cycle in the Twin Cities market.  Inventory will slowly decline from there on out.  The window of opportunity is wide open to buy at "back then" prices.  Some time in the future a lot of people will be wishing they had bought "back then" in 2008.