If you’re looking to invest in today’s housing market, you might be in for a rude awakening. It’s not that investing in real estate is any less feasible or capable of generating long-term wealth. It’s more that building the right portfolio for the right price is more challenging than ever thanks to the combination of an inventory shortage, increasing property costs, and tough lending standards.

When it comes to investing in real estate, getting started is the hardest part. This has always been true, but it’s even more evident in an economic climate that puts homeownership out of reach for so many. If you can barely afford to buy your own home, how can you begin to consider saving up to invest in real estate?

If there’s one thing we can say for ourselves, it’s that REI Nation has just about seen it all.

We were founded in 2003 – meaning the upcoming year will be our 20th anniversary! And in those twenty years, we’ve seen the market twist and turn from the 2008 Housing Crisis and Great Recession to the COVID-19 pandemic and all the ups and downs in between.

Although real estate remains one of the best investments you can make – particularly if you’re looking to beat inflation – buying investment properties demands more due diligence than ever simply because of intense market conditions.

The U.S. real estate market has been in a state since the Great Recession. While many markets have experienced recovery in terms of their value, the “business as usual” status quo has not returned. We’re seeing longer real estate cycles and what seems to be an endless “recovery” phase.

Passive real estate investors know that, ultimately, they need to grow beyond a single investment property. It’s the only way to truly grow their passive income! For first-time investors, though, it’s not quite as simple as buying a second property willy-nilly. An investment property is a large purchase that, especially in the beginning, has to be saved for and carefully considered.

When we’re taught about real estate investment strategies, especially as they relate to single-family properties, it is drilled into us that we have to buy below market value if we want to see good returns.  The problem with that statement is that each real estate market is unique and there are always different strategies that different investors employ at different times.  So, one statement, that while on the surface looks like great advice, may not always make sense for each investor.

Summer. It’s hot. The real estate market is also hot. It’s the time of year when everyone wants to buy and everyone is selling.

For real estate investors who want to get in on the frenzy, there are a few things that you need to know so that you don’t get caught up in the heat of the moment and make critical errors.

Investing in real estate can be a highly competitive business. Granted, how competitive depends on a two primary factors: your market and your strategy. Real estate investors dealing with a typical buy-and-hold strategy have to elbow through two common obstacles.

These are the market prices and other investors and buyers.

Naturally, markets experience different seasons and fluctuations. For example, after the recession circa 2009, investing in real estate was relatively easy. A lot of people chose to start investing because prices were so dramatically low and foreclosures were plentiful.

At the same time, there was a lot of competition because of the sheer number of investors. Eventually, as prices began to rise and recover

Property hunting is the endless rabbit hole that real estate investors are perpetually thrust into. We’re always on the lookout for the best deals, the perfect properties, and the key features that will ultimately calculate into that sweet investment property for our portfolio.

Even though it’s necessary, looking for properties comes with a lot of frustrations. It’s exhausting to be faced with an endless sea of options, most of which aren’t the right fit.

When you find one that actually works out, having to go through a long process of negotiating and acquisition before you can actually get on the path to making money on the property is another headache, too!