October 12 2007
By MoneyBlueBook

This is for those of you who missed out on the real estate boom of the last few years. I think you'll know where I'm coming from.

Back in 2004 I was feeling downtrodden. I was only very recently a year out of graduate school and already my friends were snapping up properties left and right. I know it's not good to be envious of others, but I felt like I was missing out on the greatest boom of the decade.

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A few of my friends and acquaintances at the time were making lucrative incomes by flipping houses, and perfecting the art of buying distressed properties, fixing them up, and selling them for quick profits. Some were even working on the side and making good money as house appraisers. I even knew a few people who took trips to Miami and Las Vegas to take advantage of the red hot housing markets there. Many were putting money down for pre-construction condominium projects that gained in market value even before the contract ink was dry. During the boom, it seemed like everyone was making money off of paper gains due to rapid appreciation of housing prices.

Great Real Estate Investing Opportunities Opening Up

Now, everything has changed. The real estate market has cooled and completely caved inward. Housing values are depreciating and foreclosures are up.

In the midst of this doom and gloom, I can crack a smile. The opportunistic eager beaver in me knows that my time to shine will soon be near. Am I being mean by thinking like this? After all we live in a capitalistic society. Even our stock market is based on the efficient concept that for every seller there will be a buyer. The market sets the price. I didn't do anything to cause real estate prices to tank, but I will certainly be there to catch and cradle the bargains after prices have made their 50 percent drop. It certainly won't be that much, but the greater the drop the better.

The Real Estate Bear Market Is Not Close To Ending Yet

I currently rent a one bedroom in a brand new condominium complex that many speculators were buying for exorbitant prices during the boom. Now the trapped sellers have been forced to rent them out due to the stagnating real estate market. However, I can tell they are now trying to wage a comeback, but I don't think many of them will succeed. There are simply too many sellers in my complex and not enough buyers. I can tell the number of condo sellers in my building is starting to grow by the increasing number of padded lock boxes that I see on the gated fence entrance to my building. If you don't know what I'm talking about regarding the lock boxes, here's an article to enlighten you. They would probably need to slash prices by 30% before I'd even consider making an offer. I guess I like to play hardball. It's good to be a buyer in a buyer's market.