Although I feel for homeowners that have had their homes up for sale for months on end with very little traffic, I am also acutely aware that this condition was, in part, due to their greed and the greed of the real estate industry in general. Since the housing boom, homeowners and real estate professionals alike continued to believe that homes were worth more than current market conditions indicated and homeowners insisted on listing their homes above what the true market value was and what, hopefully, their real estate professional advised against. Why just in my neighborhood alone I have seen homes sit on the market for close to two years without so much as a nibble of an offer.

The burning question remains, where have all the real estate investors gone? I remember just a few years back they flooded the market when home prices were through the roof, this made no sense, they should be scooping up these homes now more than ever, especially the savvy ones that actually know how to make money in real estate now in this declining market. Even new investors can make a killing by researching how to buy foreclosed property, just look at the amount of short sales and foreclosures there are. I can only conclude that most investors are just waiting until the bottom drops out completely. Of course there is no way to really predict when that will be. Lenders are more cautious today but some creative leading is still available for those with decent credit scores.

The recent decline in the housing market does not appear to be caused by any other factors as it typically has been in the past. The stock market, although declining somewhat does not seem to have a significant effect this time. Unemployment remains low and jobs are still being created. Interest rates remain low, I remember when I bought a home in 1992, the interest rate at that time was almost ten percent. The casual investor, Mr. and Ms. John Doe will make money in real estate now if they consider looking at short sales and foreclosures and learn how to buy foreclosed property if they want to get started in real estate investing. They need to do some research and they will find a tremendous volume of homes offered at ridiculously low prices that banks just want to get rid of as quickly as possible.

The housing market is typically slow this time of the year so it really is a great time to start your search as more price reductions are seen before the new year. I for one have been keeping my eyes and ears peeled looking for investment property and will more than likely purchase by years end, you would be crazy not to. The housing slump will not last forever and there are slight indications that we are slowly recovering so as this happens your window of opportunity starts to decrease.

I do not, however want it to get back to the way it was, I remember it got so crazy in 2005 that I had to write 7 contracts for my client before one was accepted. The contracts were over list price on town homes that should have been listed way below what they were listed at to start with. But if you wrote a contract back then at the list price, you would be laughed at all the way back to your real estate office. It was absolutely nuts out there and many homeowners and agents alike made an insane amount of money, so maybe now it's the Universe's way of righting a wrong, who knows!

So how do you make money in real estate now? Before investing in any real estate, you must first do some research, especially if you are new. There are fortunes to be made but you must know what you are doing. Learn how you can cash in on short sales and foreclosures, unfortunately there is an abundance of them all across the United States. Be smart and research first, it may end up making you a fortune in the long run...just remember, more millionaires have been made in real estate than any other investment option.

More info on your stop foreclosure information search:

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