Guest Post: In the past, real estate appreciated consistently, and created a source of wealth because of: appreciation, depreciation, debt relief, and cash flow. Real estate was often acquired with a 20% down payment and the remaining 80% balance was financed. Properties didn’t always provide cash flow at the start of the investment because of the amount of financing that was part of the acquisition equation. However, since properties were generally going up in value, that 80/20 leverage was a good thing; the returns may have increased because of appreciation.

Times certainly have changed. The real estate market is continuing to decline and many believe the bottom of the market seems at least a couple of years away. According to Mike Scott of Dupre + Scott Apartment Advisors (a Puget Sound apartment research firm) appreciation in real estate over the next several years may be nominal. According to their report, getting a decent rate of return on investments isn’t just around the corner. They indicate it could be fifteen to twenty years away.

The question is: if we can’t rely on appreciation in the near term does that mean we should avoid real estate or real estate related investments? Not necessarily. What it does mean, is that we need new investment strategies that make the most of current market conditions.

In the old real estate world when we referred to ROI we meant: RETURN ON INVESTMENT. Today, with the collapsing real estate marketplace, people are more concerned with capital preservation rather than asset growth. In the new economy, ROI has a completely new meaning: RELIABILITY OF INCOME. With the economy changing the playing field, cash flow has become the sought after benefit, rather than appreciation or depreciation. It has become very clear that investment decisions based on the old model may need to be rethought.

Just because the economic landscape has changed doesn’t mean that there aren’t some viable investment options. One of the many opportunities afforded investors using qualified funds (IRA, Roth, etc.) is that of acquiring real estate related products rather than real estate. Real estate related investments include offerings such as private Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) and real estate funds.

Since it looks like appreciation may be nominal for a number of years and since one can’t take advantage of depreciation in a retirement account, I think it makes no sense to base investment decisions primarily on investment growth due to appreciation and depreciation. Rather, one should look at investment products that base investment growth on cash flow. This is where real estate related products appear to have an advantage.

A number of real estate related products currently being offered fit nicely in a retirement account. Moreover, since many investment offerings are based on new lower real estate values, they may present cash flow opportunities that may not have been previously available.

I’ll leave you with a parting thought: “Real estate investing may have fundamentally changed for the foreseeable future. Isn’t it worth investing a few minutes of your time to consider the benefits and risks of all of your investment options?” You may be intrigued by what you discover.

If you want to take a look, Contact me.