I spent Friday afternoon with a young investor.  He had been referred to me after an appraiser told him he really needed to have a buyer's agent.  I love his enthusiasm, and respect the fact that he is getting into real estate at such a young age - not your average young man!

"Invest in real estate now?" you might ask.  Well, to borrow some of an article in the March 2007 Smart Money magazine:  "Invest in rental housing?  Now?  With real estate headlines these days ranging from sober to apocalyptic, using 'invest' and 'housing' in the same sentence can get you some funny looks around the water cooler.  But rental market fundamentals are surprisingly sound.  For one thing, rents have fallen behind sales prices in recent years and have some catching up to do.  Even better, the National Association of Homebuilders expects 1.5 million new households to form each year through 2015, many created by immigrants and twentysomethings - the folks most likely to rent." 

And, the market for buyers is better here than it has been in awhile.  We are an area that expects massive growth due to baby boomers retiring, and our reputation is growing as one of the best places in America to live.  So perhaps a better question would be, "Why not invest in real estate now?"  How many people wish that they had taken that money that they put in the stock market in the 90's and put it in real estate instead.  (That's my hand you see high in the air!)

But it's never too early, or too late for that matter.  As I always say, the best deal you get in real estate is the one you make today.  I'll keep an eye on this young man's portfolio.   Let's hope he does well, as he's getting married this spring.  (Congratulations Walter and Nettie!)