If you dreamed of investing in real estate to earn passive income decades ago, your plans may have come to a standstill after the US housing crash in 2008. You may wonder if there will ever be another good time to buy, and the truth is that the real estate market has become a great place to invest over the past several years. However, with the recent turmoil in many countries, including Brexit, experts believe that now is actually the best time in years to purchase real estate investment properties. Why? Here are the top two reasons why revisiting that dream of becoming a real estate investor today may end up being an extremely lucrative decision, as well as the top cities to purchase lucrative properties.
1. Mortgage Interest Rates are Extremely Low Right Now
According to an expert at Entrepreneur.com, there are multiple reasons why now is a good time to invest in real estate. However, the most important reason is the super-low, post-Brexit mortgage interest rates. He states that while interest rates had been low for a few years, they had just begun to climb pre-Brexit. Then, once the citizens of the UK voted to leave the EU, the uncertainty of how the decision would impact the nation led to interest rates dropping dramatically again. He believes that the low rates won't last long and that the opportunity to obtain mortgages at such low rates today, as low as 4 percent, will likely be looked back on as a huge missed opportunity for investors who don't take advantage of them.
2. Real Estate is the Best Investment During a Volatile World Economy
According to another investment expert at TheStreet.com, hard assets, including real estate, are the best items to invest in during uncertain economic times. The reason given is that unlike stocks, the value of property is not as dependent on the strength of a the dollar. While he feels Brexit will have much less impact on the economy than many people think it will, he states that even if it were to affect the value of the dollar, the value of real estate will not be affected.
Also, the US real estate market is not just invested in by US buyers, but investors from all over the world purchase investment properties in the United States. However, UK investors are facing difficulty obtaining loans from their local banks, and financial advisers are advising them not to take on new mortgage loans right now due to the economic uncertainty after their split from the European Union. What does this mean for US buyers? There will be a little less competition in the marketplace right now, and less competition can mean temporarily lower housing prices.
Best Cities To Buy Investment Real Estate
Now that you know why it is a great time to revisit that dream of investing in real estate, you likely wonder where you should purchase property. While there is no reason to avoid investing in any area of the country, experts also have opinions on what the hottest housing markets are right now and why.
While you can find the full list of the 40 best cities to buy real estate in at Forbes.com, top cities include Grand Rapids, Michigan, which is experiencing a boom of population growth, and Orlando, Florida, where home values are already beginning to rise and are expected to continue to appreciate for the next few years. The growing population in Grand Rapids means that it is a great place to purchase property at a low price, hang on to it for a few years, then sell it when the population boom leads to a dramatic increase in property values due to high demand. In Orlando, it is easy to see why purchasing property that has already been appreciating dramatically will pay off; when home values are on an upward trend, they typically continue to rise for quite a few years, giving you a great return on your investment dollar.
If you once dreamed of becoming a real estate investor, then experts believe that now is the perfect time to invest. A good realtor, such as those at Celia Dunn Sotheby's International Realty, can help you find properties in appreciating markets with growing populations.
