During my childhood, I was fascinated by a series of commercials for a mosquitoe repellant- they were quite compelling.

A man would stick his arm into a "cage" full of thirsty mosquitoes.

They would quickly land and get to work on his unprotected arm.

I practically shouted at the screen, "don't do it! ... you'll get malaria!"

Then the man would spray on some mosquito repellant and re-insert his arm.

The mosquitos would stay clear.

The announcer would say, "They don't bite. They don't even light!"

This imagery came to mind in the past week when I began to notice a significant change in the real estate investor market. Investors are suddenly everywhere.

The popularity of the market can change so quickly. There were times when anyone who owned a hammer began to think of picking it up and doing "fix and flips". Then the market was saturated with people looking to make easy money in this manner. Then supply and demand kicked in. Too many investors- too few opportunities.

We're in a changing time. From the activity I'm seeing the investors are swooping in... not just the newcomer, but the serious institutional investor.

They, like the mosquitoes, are hovering over the scene and choosing from the many available prospects. Currently they're making offer of land to the troubled builder or the small private lender who holds too many notes. They're taking buy-and-hold positions in land or creating leaseback arrangements with condo-conversion groups.

If you're an investor looking for opportunities in the Phoenix metro area, contact me. There are portfolios large and small to consider.

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Chuck Willman is an agent in the Phoenix metropolitan area of Arizona. Visit his site: www.AZvest.com.