hi folks, im wondering if any of you have an opinion one way or the other on this. i plan on buying 1-2(3 if things got REALLY cheap) properties over the next year, and wondering how quickly i should be moving. as statistically speaking, real estate prices are still dropping, my instinct is to wait. thoughts? thanks much.

My philosophy: Buy any time you find a "good" deal and you can get the money to do it.

A "good" deal is something below market value in a decent neighborhood that will cash flow now or cash flow once I finish the remodeling.

How will I be sure when we've hit bottom? I don't know -- maybe I'll know, but maybe I won't. And even if I do, I may have missed some plum deals along the way.

I agree with Barb. Buy when you find a good deal. The only way you will know we have hit bottom is when prices start going back up...that is too late! If it cash flows and meets your needs, buy it.

Hey Philly,

I have to agree. If you could buy at the bottom it would be easy the problem is the bottom could of been a month ago or it could be a year from now. Especially with a rental property if the numbers work it really makes sense to just find the right property for you and buy it. The nice thing about this market is interest rates are low and you are not usually competing with multiple bids which will keep you from overpaying.

Dubai’s Real Estate Regulatory Agency (Rera) is cracking down on property developers with out its Registration. According to Rera top official no memorandums of understandings, sale agreements or property contracts will be legally acceptable if they are not registered with the Dubai Land Department (DLD). Even real estate developers who are not registered with Rera or any of the unregistered projects would not permit to sell their properties.

When looking at development opportunities you have to look at what the saturation rate will be when your project is completed.Because if there is a need now but 2 years down the road when you finish it becomes saturated you can lose your shirt.You have to build it faster,better, and sell at the best price to win.

Marketing timing works only if you get lucky. However, finding good values takes skill and experience. Even if the market hasn't bottom yet, it may be low enough for smart investors to jump in. Remember the housing boom? When everyone knows it is the right time to jump in, the price may have gone up significantly and properties are hard to find.

This is excellent advice, but I wonder if maybe there are some pratical indicators on what makes a property a good deal. I read elsewhere in the forum that the surrounding job market is one index. I wonder if there is a price-to-earings ratio for property to look at.

Some other things you might want to look at are the # of apartment complexes and their vacancy rates. Sure, not everyone wants to live in an apartment complex, but some people do. Some people want to rent single family homes too, so take a look at where the working class people live and look for good deals there. Consider whether the job market is growing, shrinking, or stable, And what's projected - for instance, BRAC is supposed to bring over 10,000 soldiers to the local area here over the next few years, with some number of family members and contracted activities.