"Smart Investors do the 
opposite of what the majority of people are doing. When everyone is selling, it's time to buy. When everyone is buying, it's time to sell. Don't follow the crowd."-Bill Mallery, M & M Real Estate, Inc.
My broker told me this 14 years ago, when I started in real estate. Those words still ring true today and always will.
In 2005, our phones were ringing off the hook and 2-3 buyers were calling a week, with the desire to buy "investment properties". They wanted to buy, hold for a year and flip. They were not buying with the hopes of collecting any monthly cash flow. They wanted to buy purely on speculation, with the hopes that the market would continue to ride the appreciation wave. Buying on speculation only, with no income coming in today can be risky, unless you know exactly what you're doing. In our area, prices were at an all time high, that was NOT the time to buy!* But, many wanted to and thousands upon thousands did.
Didn't these "wanna be" investors remember the "Tech Stock Market Bubble?" Many only dreamed of dollar signs.
In September of 1996 I purchased my first rental house. I continued purchasing rental properties with my father and husband until somewhere around 2005.
I remember people asking "What are you doing buying those little rental houses? What are you going to do with them?" I turned my back on the crowd. They didn't understand.
I have watched my broker, who has been in the real estate business for over 50 years, accumulate wealth over time on his single family rental houses. It made perfect sense to me then and still does today. We paid $30,000, $40,000 and $50,000 for those properties. They all have positive monthly cash flow and always have. And, today, all of them are worth 2 to 3 times what we paid. Several have been paid off by the tenants over the years. We have sold a couple over the years.
Today, there are incredible buying opportunities in the real estate market. Market values have declined to a more realistic level since the overinflated prices of 2005. Interest rates are at an all time low. Inventory of houses for sale is plentiful. There are thousands of banks that are willing to negotiate some very attractive deals on foreclosures and some short sales.
It's time to buy real estate and smart investors are reaping the rewards. Whether they are buying houses to rehab and rent them or rehab and flip, the opportunities are plentiful.
Unfortunately, some buyers are frozen by fear.
People are talking to people who are talking to more people. They are following the crowd, as many people do. And, that's where misinformation comes into the picture. Some are waiting. Waiting for what? They're missing opportunities. Great buying opportunities. The time to buy real estate is now!
I previously wrote an article about following the crowd and media driven real estate.
Real Estate is local in nature. I am writing this post based on my experiences in the Brevard County Florida real estate market. Your experiences maybe different.
*I understand that many purchased real estate as the market was heading up, and planned their resale perfectly and made large sums of money. But, this was not always the case, thus the mess the country is in with the sub prime mortgage mess.
This article is authored by Sandy Shores, Melbourne FL Realtor, Brevard County Florida's Space Coast.
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