With the 2024 Paris Olympic Games underway, we’re enamored with the Olympian spirit. Truly, fewer people are more resilient and dedicated on the planet! But as hard as these athletes train with blood, sweat, and tears, not everyone will win the gold. There will be failure and heartbreak.

Because the real estate market moves in a cycle, you’d think timing it would be easy. After all, if investors could predict what the market will do, we’d be able to time our moves accordingly! While that’s a wonderful thought, it’s the daydream of an inexperienced investor.

Low inventory has been the thorn in the housing market’s side for over a decade. The pandemic heightened the pressure of this squeeze, but make no mistake – this problem has been brewing for a while. In a turn of events, Housing Wire reports that soaring interest rates (now hitting the 7% mark) are finally affecting the real estate market.

As investors, the benefits and risks of property locations are paramount to our success. We all hear location, location, location, but why does it matter so much?

Portfolio expansion is a necessary step to building passive wealth. Multiple properties and several streams of cash flow are par for the course. Expanding, however, isn’t as easy as hitting Zillow and finding an attractive property to buy! Investors set themselves up for success with careful planning, risk mitigation…and consulting their portfolio advisor!

In real estate, location is everything. Whether you’re determining where to invest for the first time, where to expand your portfolio, or whether or not your current markets are still best suited for investment growth, you need a set of clear guidelines and metrics to follow.

The question of location is the biggest in real estate. We know just how important the “where” is in purchasing properties! While you want to invest in a robust and growing market, you also want to be wary of overhyped areas. Finding that sweet spot is tricky.

The real estate market as we know it seems to be settling into a “new normal,” where sellers recognize their need to make concessions and price adjustments and buyers have reluctantly accepted higher mortgage rates. That’s not to say that things won’t change – the market will continue to correct, albeit slowly.

Remote investing used to be a scary concept. Investors wouldn’t dream of taking a chance on a market thousands of miles away! But today, we’re more used to distance than ever. Technology shrunk that gap, and that means that investing from a distance is safer and more accessible than ever.

At REI Nation, we’re always on the lookout for new, exciting markets that best fit into our investor’s portfolios. Over the past few years, we’ve expanded our reach to include the likes of San Antonio, Texas, and three Alabama markets: Tuscaloosa, Birmingham, and Huntsville.