Is real estate a wise investment?
In the long run, there are fewer investments that have shown a better return. However, the key to investing wisely in real estate is understanding how the industry differs from others. For example, when the defense industry dips, it usually shows a national decline and the stock prices of defense-oriented firms drop across the board. The same is true of most industries. They are impacted nationally. That is not the case with real estate, which is actually an industry and investment driven by local conditions. One community may suddenly lose a manufacturing facility, and almost overnight the market is flooded with properties for sale. An excellent example is Southern California. Several years ago, when defense cutbacks began an excess of homes went up for sale, increasing the supply and lowering demand. Therefore, it became a buyer’s market. At the same time, Bakersfield, a community less than 150 miles from Los Angeles continued to experience high demand for real estate. With a short s
