Real Estate Investors

Just like in the stock market, there are different sectors of the real estate market that ebb and flow based upon a number of different factors—and investors pick and choose from these areas. Often the investor is selling stocks in one market to pick up rising stocks in another, whether the sector in question is technology, pharmaceuticals, or oil.

In real estate investing there are different sectors just like the stock market, and at certain times some are better than others. And, everyone is rushing around trying to figure out where the jackpot is.

Ideally, one would like to find property that will increase in value no matter what the trends are in the market. And you can. The good investor will find property in areas that are on the rise that others might have missed— untapped areas. Now, with many home owners foreclosing, it’s good to own apartments, as these former home owners are looking to rent, and rental rates are going up as demand rises.

Here is a list of types of real estate investors:

• College market—apartments for colleges and universities.
• Commercial real estate.
• Single-family homes.
• Multi-family homes.
• Land prospectors.
• Large commercial real estate—malls or large business complexes.
• Condominiums.
• The plexes: Duplexes, Tri-plexes and Four-plexes.
• Apartment buildings.
• Vacation homes.
• Mansions.
• Residential communities.
• Local: In state versus out of state.
• Pre-foreclosure and foreclosed homes.
• Pre-construction.
• Restoration—specialized in restoring old homes or property deemed a historical landmark.
• Event buying—real estate for an upcoming event like the World Cup or the Olympics.
• Residential hotels.
• Real Estate Investment Trusts.
• Office buildings.

 

All of these sectors or different types of investors have their good points and bad. But these points depend more on the state of the market. The current market encourages you to purchase condos, apartments or duplexes. As anyone in the stock market will tell you: it pays to have a broad range of stocks and not to have all of your money in one sector—in other words, diversify.

Many of these sectors or investor types also overlap, so they’re not necessarily one or the other, but many times a combination. For instance, an investor might buy a foreclosed home and turn the home into a triplex if the local laws and regulations allow for this.

Also, you may have noticed that these properties are a mix of residential real estate and commercial real estate. Both of these types depend on different variables that affect their market in the future, such as interest rates for the former and job growth for the latter. Use these factors as clues to help you decide where and what you invest in.

Remember: Diversify, have a plan, get creative and stay in the game.